The weather forecast looked promising for god rays on Sunday morning, those shafts of light that pierce through the clouds like huge torch beams. It's difficult to predict when they will appear, although I always seem to see them when I'm in my car driving somewhere without the camera!
Early morning and early evening presents the best chance of getting them as the sun is low in the sky. Some broken mid-level cloud is also required to 'channel' the sunlight into thin beams, but you also need a dose of luck and to be in the right place at the right time!
I set the alarm for 5am (actually 6am with the clocks going back) although unknown to me the alarm on my mobile phone had corrected itself for daylight saving so when I stepped outside it was already getting light! First mistake of the day.
It's an hour's drive to the coast so by the time I got there the sun was already coming up. I wasn't too concerned as the cloud cover was quite thick so sunrise shots were out of the question anyway, so that left only god-ray shots to try for.
As I made my way between the slippery rocks onto the beach I could see shafts of light breaking through the clouds! My prediction was correct but I had to work quickly as the wind was picking up so the light would not stay that way for long.
I grabbed the camera and checked out a couple of possible compositions before setting up the tripod. Once happy I got the tripod into a rough position and then went to attached the camera to head. This is where mistake number two happened. The camera would not lock into the head. Now I don't use cheap camera gear, the head is a Manfrotto geared one which cost a lot of money, but for some reason the lever that locks the plate was stuck in the locked position. It wouldn't budge and was jammed solid as a rock. I looked up at the light and could see already the light was changing and the god rays were starting to disappear! I had to think quickly - waste time with the head or try balancing the camera on the tripod while hand holding it? I went for the latter.
I did manage to get a couple of shots, but due to the faffing about and low light and high winds many of the shots had obvious camera shake. I was very lucky to get any shots at all though. When I got home I dismantled the head and found that the spring under the lever had dirt and dried salt in it which had caused it to seize up completely. The moral of this story is that don't just check your camera, lenses and filters before you go out on a shoot, check your tripod and head too or you may miss the opportunity to get some amazing shots!
Sunday, 25 October 2009
Wednesday, 7 October 2009
The Weather Guessing Game
Autumn is upon us once again and it's getting colder and darker in the mornings. I do love this time of year though, as it means that sunrise is now at a more respectable time. Now that's not to say that dragging myself out of bed on a cold dark Sunday morning at 5.30am is any easier, especially while everyone else is tucked up warm and snug in their beds! I'm always half tempted to bounce the alarm off the wall and turn back over, but I know that I'll hate myself later if I miss that beautiful pre-dawn light that I'm hedging my bets on will show itself.
It doesn't always work out like that though. You check the weather forecasts the day before and it looks promising, you check again at night and it still looks ok, you then wake up up at an ungodly hour and look out the window to see nothing but a blanket of low level cloud. How could the weather forecaster get it so wrong? or is this blanket of light choking cloud localised to my area? Do I risk an hour's drive to the coast only to find the same cloud cover there? It's the dilemma of every landscape photographer wishing to catch that fleeting beautiful light that welcomes the new day.
It's always a risk, as the light is never guaranteed anyway even if there is no low thick cloud cover. The best you can do is make an educated guess. Get it right and you have the potential to get some fabulous shots, get it wrong and you simply go home and have a nice big breakfast waiting for everybody else when they get up!
It doesn't always work out like that though. You check the weather forecasts the day before and it looks promising, you check again at night and it still looks ok, you then wake up up at an ungodly hour and look out the window to see nothing but a blanket of low level cloud. How could the weather forecaster get it so wrong? or is this blanket of light choking cloud localised to my area? Do I risk an hour's drive to the coast only to find the same cloud cover there? It's the dilemma of every landscape photographer wishing to catch that fleeting beautiful light that welcomes the new day.
It's always a risk, as the light is never guaranteed anyway even if there is no low thick cloud cover. The best you can do is make an educated guess. Get it right and you have the potential to get some fabulous shots, get it wrong and you simply go home and have a nice big breakfast waiting for everybody else when they get up!
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
The Mourne mountains revisited - Views from Doan
With the weather being so good this weekend, and the chances very high that we won't get weather this good again until next year, I decided to take myself off once again into the Mourne mountains in county Down.
My favourite view point is from the summit of Slieve Loughshannagh. From here you can almost see the whole mountain range and over to the coast on the west.
One peak that dominates the view is Doan, and even though it is very close to Slieve Loughshannagh and looks very accessible I've never actually climbed it, so I made a decision to do just that to see what the views are like from there!
I wanted to get some panoramic shots from the summit of Slieve Loughshannagh so I thought I would climb this first, get the shots then climb down the otherside then climb up Doan. I would then have to go back the way I came to get back to the car park. How hard could it be? Harder than I thought!
The climb up to the summit of Doan is actually more of a walk than a climb and is relatively easy. Once you reach the summit you are greeted by the most spectacular views. Doan sits almost in the very center of the Mournes so from here you have a 360 degree panoramic view of the whole area.
So if you are planning a walk in the Mournes, I highly recommend a visit to Doan.
If you are not up to a long hike then I recommend that you take the route that I did from the carpark just off Slievenaman road at the base of Slieve Loughshannagh.
My favourite view point is from the summit of Slieve Loughshannagh. From here you can almost see the whole mountain range and over to the coast on the west.
One peak that dominates the view is Doan, and even though it is very close to Slieve Loughshannagh and looks very accessible I've never actually climbed it, so I made a decision to do just that to see what the views are like from there!
I wanted to get some panoramic shots from the summit of Slieve Loughshannagh so I thought I would climb this first, get the shots then climb down the otherside then climb up Doan. I would then have to go back the way I came to get back to the car park. How hard could it be? Harder than I thought!
The climb up to the summit of Doan is actually more of a walk than a climb and is relatively easy. Once you reach the summit you are greeted by the most spectacular views. Doan sits almost in the very center of the Mournes so from here you have a 360 degree panoramic view of the whole area.
So if you are planning a walk in the Mournes, I highly recommend a visit to Doan.
If you are not up to a long hike then I recommend that you take the route that I did from the carpark just off Slievenaman road at the base of Slieve Loughshannagh.
Wednesday, 26 August 2009
Glens of Antrim and Glenariff
The forecast on Monday was for clear weather with some sunshine, one of the few days this month to be rain free! and since there had been so much rain the previous few days, I though it would be a good idea to go up to Glenariff forest to get some shots of the waterfalls in full flow.
The glens themselves sit in a massive valley carved out by a glacier some 10,000 years ago, providing s wonderfully dense and varied landscape containing forest, waterfalls and rivers. There were two waterfalls in particular that I wanted to photograph, Ess-na-Crub and Ess-na-Laragh.
The last time I was here it never crossed my mind to bring wellies so that I could get up close and personal with the waterfalls, so this time I cam prepared! However by the time I walked down into the valley towards Ess-na-Crub I soon realised that entering the river was completely out of the question. There had been so much rain the previous few days that the water volume coming over the falls had probably doubled in volume, raising the water level enormously and producing so much spray and mist that photography was out of the question.
It was quite a sight though and the heavy rain did have the advantage of making the many smaller and normally unnoticed waterfalls quite spectacular!
Ess-na-Laragh was also more spectacular than usual and again the water levels and spray were way higher than normal meaning that entering the river was again out of the question, although I did manage to get a few shots from the walkway.
If you have never been to the Glens of Antrim or Glenariff then I highly recommend that you do. It is one of the most outstanding areas of natural beauty in Northern Ireland and well worth a visit. you won't be disappointed!
The glens themselves sit in a massive valley carved out by a glacier some 10,000 years ago, providing s wonderfully dense and varied landscape containing forest, waterfalls and rivers. There were two waterfalls in particular that I wanted to photograph, Ess-na-Crub and Ess-na-Laragh.
The last time I was here it never crossed my mind to bring wellies so that I could get up close and personal with the waterfalls, so this time I cam prepared! However by the time I walked down into the valley towards Ess-na-Crub I soon realised that entering the river was completely out of the question. There had been so much rain the previous few days that the water volume coming over the falls had probably doubled in volume, raising the water level enormously and producing so much spray and mist that photography was out of the question.
It was quite a sight though and the heavy rain did have the advantage of making the many smaller and normally unnoticed waterfalls quite spectacular!
Ess-na-Laragh was also more spectacular than usual and again the water levels and spray were way higher than normal meaning that entering the river was again out of the question, although I did manage to get a few shots from the walkway.
If you have never been to the Glens of Antrim or Glenariff then I highly recommend that you do. It is one of the most outstanding areas of natural beauty in Northern Ireland and well worth a visit. you won't be disappointed!
Tuesday, 11 August 2009
Historical Belfast City
I've been living in Northern Ireland for nearly six years now and have worked quite a few of them in Belfast, although for some reason I've never actually taken any photos in or around this amazing city until now.
I guess it's because like most people who have something worth seeing right on their doorstep, they never actually get round to doing it because they can do it anytime they like! It was the same when I lived in Scotland. I was only a 40 mile drive from Loch Lommond but very rarely went there. Now that I'm living in Northern Ireland I wish I had made more of an effort to visit parts of Scotland like Loch Lommond when I was there.
Belfast is a city steeped in amazing history and one place that is really worth a visit is the titanic quarter, where the ill-fated titanic was built.(titanic dock and pump house shown above) This area is also home to the famous giant Harland and Wolff cranes which are fondly named "Samson and Goliath". These cranes dominate the skyline and can be seen from most parts of the city. Of course this area also still operates as a port today so some places are out of bounds to the general public and to photography as I found out when I tried to take some shots of the large operating cranes unloading the ships!
Now that I have been around the dock area its given me a taste to explore more of Belfast city, so if you have somewhere close by that you regularly think of visiting but never do, go and make a point of doing it and get out there now.
I guess it's because like most people who have something worth seeing right on their doorstep, they never actually get round to doing it because they can do it anytime they like! It was the same when I lived in Scotland. I was only a 40 mile drive from Loch Lommond but very rarely went there. Now that I'm living in Northern Ireland I wish I had made more of an effort to visit parts of Scotland like Loch Lommond when I was there.
Belfast is a city steeped in amazing history and one place that is really worth a visit is the titanic quarter, where the ill-fated titanic was built.(titanic dock and pump house shown above) This area is also home to the famous giant Harland and Wolff cranes which are fondly named "Samson and Goliath". These cranes dominate the skyline and can be seen from most parts of the city. Of course this area also still operates as a port today so some places are out of bounds to the general public and to photography as I found out when I tried to take some shots of the large operating cranes unloading the ships!
Now that I have been around the dock area its given me a taste to explore more of Belfast city, so if you have somewhere close by that you regularly think of visiting but never do, go and make a point of doing it and get out there now.
Tuesday, 28 July 2009
Fine Art Monochrome Prints
I am pleased to announce that as from today, a selection of fine art monochrome images are available as prints from the fine art print collection.
All photographs will be printed by a professional lab using the Giclee process on Hahnemuhle fine art papers, of which I am currently offering two types:
Hahnemuhle Pearl - A bright white slightly textured 285gsm paper holds excellent detail, enables impressive contrast and depth while giving a beautiful pearl semi-gloss finish.
Hahnemuhle German Etching - A heavyweight 310gsm paper which is silky smooth with a fine surface texture, giving a matt finish and the attractive warm white shade of the traditional artist's board.
Both print types are available in sizes ranging from A5(5.8" x 8.3") right up to A2(16.5" x 23.4").
In the near future the option to have the prints mounted and matted for framing will also be available.
All photographs will be printed by a professional lab using the Giclee process on Hahnemuhle fine art papers, of which I am currently offering two types:
Hahnemuhle Pearl - A bright white slightly textured 285gsm paper holds excellent detail, enables impressive contrast and depth while giving a beautiful pearl semi-gloss finish.
Hahnemuhle German Etching - A heavyweight 310gsm paper which is silky smooth with a fine surface texture, giving a matt finish and the attractive warm white shade of the traditional artist's board.
Both print types are available in sizes ranging from A5(5.8" x 8.3") right up to A2(16.5" x 23.4").
In the near future the option to have the prints mounted and matted for framing will also be available.
Tuesday, 21 July 2009
Abstract Smoke images
With the weather being unpleasant again this weekend and me itching to get some camera action, I decided to try my hand at more abstract photography, only this time with smoke rather than ice.
As with images of water droplets, you will see quite a few examples of this type of abstract photography on various photography websites the Internet.
These types of images are actually quite easy to do. All you need is a camera on a tripod, an off camera flash, a black back drop, some incense sticks and a bit of patience!
Once the images are captured all manner of things can be done in Photoshop such as inverting the image, hand coloring the smoke trails and compositing different smoke plumes together.
As with most abstract work of this nature, big prints look really amazing and make excellent center pieces in the living room, dining room or several hanging along a hall.
If you are interested in detailed instructions on how these types of shots are done then please go to my Digital Photography Tutorials site where a tutorial will be available soon.
As with images of water droplets, you will see quite a few examples of this type of abstract photography on various photography websites the Internet.
These types of images are actually quite easy to do. All you need is a camera on a tripod, an off camera flash, a black back drop, some incense sticks and a bit of patience!
Once the images are captured all manner of things can be done in Photoshop such as inverting the image, hand coloring the smoke trails and compositing different smoke plumes together.
As with most abstract work of this nature, big prints look really amazing and make excellent center pieces in the living room, dining room or several hanging along a hall.
If you are interested in detailed instructions on how these types of shots are done then please go to my Digital Photography Tutorials site where a tutorial will be available soon.
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