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Dartmoor is well known for its tors, rock formations that rise abruptly on hill summits, but the National Park is also about wild poneys, forests, rivers and streams.
We knew what to look for given a certain light in the sky. Overcast days are an invitation to shoot under trees, keeping that white textureless sky out of the images and avoiding harsh shadows. With that in mind we headed for Dart river on the Park’s east side, but on the way, while crossing an ancient stone bridge we found a small stream belonging to O Brook’s river. Fighting my way through the vegetation and avoiding getting wet I had to lay myself over rocks on the stream and install the tripod on the water. With the remote control, neutral density filter and a tissue to clean it I was ready for my shots.
O Brook stream. Dartmoor, England
Canon 5DII, Canon 16-35 f2.8 II L - 17mm, f/16, 10s, ISO 50
O Brook stream. Dartmoor, England
Canon 5DII, Canon 16-35 f2.8 II L - 24mm, f/16, 4s, ISO 50
O Brook stream. Dartmoor, England
Canon 5DII, Canon 16-35 f2.8 II L - 23mm, f/16, 13s, ISO 50
While thinking about the best composition for a shot I noticed the stream speed and water shape as it ran through a small opening between a couple of rocks. With that in mind I put on my telephoto lens and tried a panning aiming for a nice abstract image. This was my best achievement.
Abstract stream. Dartmoor, England
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS II L - 95mm, f/16, 1.3s, ISO 50
Lastly, we hadn’t much time to explore river Dart, and since it is a more open landscape than O Brooke, many places were uninteresting to photograph in this time of the year. Anyway, this next image represents my best effort from there.
River Dart. Dartmoor, England
Canon 5DII, Canon 16-35 f2.8 II L - 25mm, f/16, 0.6s, ISO 50
May 13, 2012 | Categories: England, Landscapes | Tags: Dart, devon, england, landscapes, nature, O Brook, river, stream, uk | 2 Comments »
I first took notice about Hartland Quay when reading Lonely Planet’s Devon, Cornwall & Southwest England guidebook, where it says this is one of the best sunset spots on southwest England. After checking some images on the web it surely looked to have photographic potential, so we naturally included it on our journey.
The idea was to spend a couple of nights there. Experience tells me that one day could not be enough for a good photo due to several conditions like weather, in this particular case. We were greeted by a huge storm, extreme winds, rain, almost no light in mid afternoon and a rough sea crashing on shore. Warnings were all over the place to be careful close to promontories.
We had two choices by then, going to the local pub and have some pints or stay out in the elements and try to take an interesting image. Of course we went for the second option =) (the beer came later at dinner). Since there was almost no light or color, I opted for a black & white conversion on this next image for added drama.
Hartland Quay. Devon, England
Canon 5DII, Canon 16-35 f/2.8 II L - 30mm, f/14, 30s, ISO 125
Suddenly, after taking a small walk around Hartland Quay I returned to the spot where this image was taken just to find out that I could no longer identify these rocks. The tide had receded so much that a few minuted after I was way beyond that point. To my luck and amazement, the sun also decided to appear on the horizon for a brief moment. I only had time to set up my gear on the tripod and make a single shot with the sun in the frame.
Hartland Quay sunset. Devon, England
Canon 5DII, Canon 16-35 f/2.8 II L - 35mm, f/10, 59s, ISO 200
A hot shower and nice meal followed this image. The next day was spent along Cornwall’s coast. We certainly found some good spots for another trip, both for landscapes and picturesque little villages. The weather was again closing and the rain arrived so estimating how much time we needed to get to Hartland Quay for sunset off we went. This time the sun didn’t show up, but we already knew the place and I knew where I wanted to install my tripod. The sky was moving fast and looking much better than the day before with lots of textures so I opted for the 10-stop neutral density filter. The image below is the end result.
Hartland Quay at dusk. Devon, England
Canon 5DII, Canon 16-35 f/2.8 II L - 28mm, f/10, 299s, ISO 200
May 06, 2012 | Categories: England, Landscapes | Tags: coastline, devon, england, hartland quay, landscape, nature, seascape, uk | Leave A Comment »
Although our main goal with this trip to Exmoor was to break slightly away from coastal landscape photography, the truth is that misty sunrises were absent and the opportunities for good sunset shots were along the coast.
The only sunrise that we were able to photograph, due to weather conditions, didn’t bring anything extraordinary. The day before we spent some time locating possible good spots, and this was the best we could find for what we had in mind. I would rather have some mist on this valley, but since it was really cold, part of the field was slightly white due to frost on the vegetation. But better than the image was the sound, dozens of sheep, flying crows (you can actually spot three on this image), cows and the start of another day in the countryside. A digital recorder is indeed something I need to acquire for my next trips.
Morning fields in Exmoor. England
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS II L - 125mm, f/8, 1/320s, ISO 400
The other morning shot that I like, and one that I was looking after, is this next one. For a desolate landscape like the moors, nothing better than a harsh weather day and a lonely tree shaped by the elements. You may have seen the ponies in the snow from my last post. This was shot minutes before when it was starting to snow again. I used a Lee Big-Stopper filter to bring the image a more dramatic feel. The clouds and wind took care of the rest.
Lonely tree in Exmoor. England
Canon 5DII, Canon 16-35 f/2.8 II L - 16mm, f/16, 39s, ISO 200
The sunset landscapes weren’t easy to photograph. It was a bit of a gamble, we usually started our quest around 3 hours before sunset when we didn’t even know if the weather was going to be ok for a good shot. But the worst part was that it usually involved a few kilometers of hill climbing with all the gear on our backs. But as the saying goes, no pain, no gain… These first couple of images were shot on the hills east of Lynton. The later couple were shot in Hangman Point, east of Combe Martin, a place we discovered thanks to a travel guide featuring an interesting image by David Noton.
Exmoor cliffs sunset. England
Canon 5DII, Canon 16-35 f2.8 II L - 16mm, f/16, 3.2s, ISO 50
Lynton landscape sunset. Exmoor, England
Canon 5DII, Canon 16-35 f2.8 II L - 16mm, f/16, 3.2s, ISO 50
Geodesic Point in Hangman Point. Exmoor, England
Canon 5DII, Canon 16-35 f2.8 II L - 16mm, f/16, 1/40s, ISO 400
Hangman Point. Exmoor, England
Canon 5DII, Canon 16-35 f2.8 II L - 16mm, f/14, 1/6, ISO 400
Apr 29, 2012 | Categories: England, Landscapes | Tags: devon, england, exmoor, landscapes, nature, sommerset, sunset, uk | Leave A Comment »
Last week I showed the first images of Exmoor ponies, actually taken on my first day in the Natural Park. For the three days I stayed there, the occasions to photograph these cute animals were plenty, in different scenarios and with different light conditions. In this post I’ll show you some of my favorite images taken on the other two days around Exmoor Natural Park.
The first image shows the harsh moor landscape and a couple of ponies on their courtship activities. We were driving through one of the park’s interior roads on a rainy day with dramatic dark clouds, so we decided to stop the car nearby. We went out with full gear on our backs for some landscape shots, but then the rain came and the clouds texture disappeared, but luckily we saw a group of ponies some hundred meters away. Since we were already there, why not try to approach them to capture some images on this inhospitable environment? So we did, step by step, letting them be aware of our presence, most of them kept feeding while one or two had their head up watching our moves. I took a few dozen images, but this one if my favorite, showing behavior, eye contact and the surrounding landscape, home to these kind animals.
Exmoor Ponies affection. England
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS II L - 200mm, f/2.8, 1/1000s, ISO 200
Some ponies are easier to approach than others, but I’ve noticed the little ones are the most curious of all. In order not to frighten them, I laid down on the floor so they would approach me without fear. This technique worked pretty well, and the next fellow came close to 1m away from me.
Exmoor Pony close-up. England
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS II L - 70mm, f/8, 1/320s, ISO 200
Sometimes the best light isn’t available, but shooting in black & white can be an option to overcome the situation. The next two images reflect that.
Exmoor Pony portrait. England
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS II L - 200mm, f/4, 1/800s, ISO 200
Exmoor Pony. England
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS II L - 200mm, f/4, 1/2500s, ISO 100
The last morning brought a nice surprise with it, snow! On the day before, we were thinking about moving directly to Hartland Quay along the coast and making occasional stops for a few photographs, but instead we decided to head straight to the road uphill to the highest moors and check how the weather was up there. To our happiness it started snowing when we arrived, and another group of ponies was right there waiting to be photographed =)
Exmoor Pony in the snow. England
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS II L - 200mm, f/2.8, 1/320s, ISO 200
Exmoor Pony in the snow. England
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS II L - 200mm, f/2.8, 1/400s, ISO 320
Next time I’ll bring you some landscapes from Exmoor and Hartland Quay. In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe my blog updates by entering your email on the following link: SUBSCRIBE
Apr 22, 2012 | Categories: England, Wildlife | Tags: animals, england, exmoor, nature, ponies, sommerset, uk, Wildlife | Leave A Comment »
I came back from England last monday. Together with my buddy João Almeida we went on a 10-day photo-trip (8 days of actual shooting) around Exmoor National Park, Hartland Quay and Dartmoor National Park.
Although we set ourselves to photograph landscapes as a project we ended up shooting some wildlife and the occasional traditional village. The weather was far from perfect for sunrise and sunset photography, but in the end one has to manage the light the best he can and if plan A didn’t work, there was also a plan B up our sleeves.
What I didn’t expect to find was a herd of highland cattle grazing in the moors. Typical of Scotland’s highlands, these furry animals are well protected from the elements and are quite adaptable. Although large, these animals are approachable and I didn’t feel any threatened at all, even shooting at a few centimeters from their heads. The late afternoon light helped standing out the cattle’s natural warm colors, and since the animals were so approachable, why not use a wide angle lens to emphasize their environment.
Highlands cow. Exmoor, England
Canon 5DII, Canon 16-35 f/2.8 II L - 16mm, f/8, 1/500s, ISO 200
Highlands cow. Exmoor, England
Canon 5DII, Canon 16-35 f/2.8 II L - 18mm, f/8, 1/400s, ISO 200
Highlands cow. Exmoor, England
Canon 5DII, Canon 16-35 f/2.8 II L - 16mm, f/8, 1/640s, ISO 200
After getting the images I initially had in mind, it was time to innovate a bit and try a more artistic approach. The next image was done with a telephoto lens, exposing for the light hair to get a more dramatic feeling to the photo.
Highlands cow. Exmoor, England
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS II L - 168mm, f/4, 1/2000s, ISO 200
Now moving from cattle to poneys. Exmoor poneys are wild and in “critical” status by Equus Survival Trust, with worldwide population of only 800 animals. I had the opportunity to photograph wild Exmoor ponies on several occasions through these days. Some were curious and easy to approach, others would run out when we were dozens of meters away. These folks below were of that last kind.
Exmoor Pony. England
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS II L - 200mm, f/2.8, 1/1000s, ISO 200
Exmoor Pony. England
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS II L - 145mm, f/2.8, 1/800s, ISO 200
The first day ended with a stupidly long walk down a winding never-ending road. We only knew that there was a lighthouse at the end of it, nothing spectacular, but here is the best I could do with it. The way back to the car was…painful =)
Foreland Point lighthouse. Exmoor, England
Canon 5DII, Canon 16-35 f/2.8 II L - 32mm, f/14, 25s, ISO 200
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Apr 15, 2012 | Categories: England, Wildlife | Tags: animals, england, exmoor, highlands cattle, nature, ponies, sommerset, Wildlife | 4 Comments »
You don’t need to shoot wildlife to get one on one with an animal quite larger than you. Domestic cattle in Sanabria region of northern Spain graze freely through meadows and mountains.
I parked the car and walked a long beautiful path, with small hills on the sides covered with green moss and white snow, a spectacle I was not used to see close to my hometown. Then a large field appeared before me, some dispersed trees, muddy paths, and mountains to my left. I saw large cattle and some sheep along the mountain sides and walked on that direction, but the barking of a loose dog kept me at a distance.
Then the snow came, the dog shut up and the animals came down from the hills to meadow. I took my tele lens and waited below a tree for shelter for their approach. Those horns are no joke, and had no idea what their behavior would be in the presence of a stranger, so I took my time and kept under the trees for safety.
Face to face cow. Sanabria, Spain
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS L II - 200mm, f/2.8, 1/250, ISO 640
I could make a million dramatic stories about the image above, but the truth is that it was an enjoyable moment face to face with this cow. I didn’t feel threatened at all, but it is always good to keep a distance and let the animals decide the safe distance for you.
The snow got heavier and for me it was a true spectacle. The following image shows what I felt, a different place at a different time, the cold white spots all around, the eye contact, and the black & white for added drama. This is how I see my country, and Spain some decades ago.
Cow in the snow. Sanabria, Spain
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS L II - 130mm, f/2.8, 1/500, ISO 1000
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Mar 25, 2012 | Categories: Spain, Wildlife | Tags: animal, cow, nature, sanabria, spain | 2 Comments »
Last year’s winter I spent three days in Sanabria for some nature photography with some friends. Sanabria is located in northwest Spain, belonging to Castilla y León autonomous community.
Sanabria Lake Natural Park was declared in 1978 to protect the largest glacier lake in Iberian Peninsula. Is was indeed around this lake that I focused the majority of my work on the first day. We were lucky with the weather since it snowed the entire night, so when we arrived at the lake early in the morning, the atmosphere was calm, peaceful…and cold!
Winter morning in Sanabria Lake. Spain
Canon 5DII, Canon 24 f/1.4 II L - 24mm, f/14, 1/80s, ISO 400
This mirrored water lasted a couple of minutes. The wind took care of creating some ripples and after a couple of hours even the snow was almost gone.
One thing you should pay attention when visiting an interesting place is to check the directions where the sun is rising and setting. We found out that this could also be a good place for a sunset shot, so we headed again to this side of the lake on the afternoon.
Winter afternoon in Sanabria Lake. Spain
Canon 5DII, Canon 24 f/1.4 II L - 24mm, f/16, 4s, ISO 50
The conditions here were a bit different, the wind was a constant and light was really low by this time. By setting a longer shutter speed it’s possible to blend the water a bit more and get some nice sky color reflection on it. One thing you can see on both compositions are small tree branches covering part of the sky. When you have textureless or uninteresting sky it is a good technique to fill it with something that is nearby and hopefully that will also lead the eye to the main subject.
This next image was shot during afternoon on a small stream on another part of Sanabria. I love mirrored water as it gives a great sense of tranquility to a scene. Of course the bits and pieces of snow also help bringing some sense of coldness to the image.
Winter reflections in Sanabria. Spain
Canon 5DII, Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS II L - 70mm, f/16, 2s, ISO 50
I got a bit lost in this place but after half an hour fighting with brambles I managed to find my way around again =)
Mar 04, 2012 | Categories: Landscapes, Spain | Tags: landscape, nature, sanabria, snow, spain | Leave A Comment »
One more from Peneda-Gerês National Park. I had the chance to photograph some cute and pretty small mushrooms on this trip. Although it was already december, autumn colors and mushrooms were still around.
Once again rain didn’t take a break, and neither did I. This mushroom was growing from a moss covered tree. Tripod set, aperture chosen and a LED lantern to give a boost to the funghi.
Murhsroom growing from a tree. Geres, Portugal
Canon 5DII, Canon 180 f/3.5 Macro L - 180mm, f/5, 1/5s, ISO 400
Using a LED lantern to experiment with artificial lighting can give some interesting results, but I somehow prefer the more natural look to a scene. By choosing an aperture of f/5 I was able to turn the close background slightly out of focus to stand out the mushroom.
Feb 26, 2012 | Categories: Macro, Portugal | Tags: macro, mushroom, nature, Peneda Gerês, Portugal | Leave A Comment »
In northern Portugal sloughs usually have deep slopes and excavated lines zigzagging through it. This is important to spread the water through the entire field.
In Travassos, Montalegre, I found this lonely tree standing firmly over this green slough. Using a circular polarizer I was able to cut the reflection on the golden autumn leaves and get a bit more contrast in the sky. Remember that circular polarizers work best 90º from the light source. Leaving the tree crown above the horizon woods and against the opposite colored sky the helps the autumn feeling stands out.
Lonely tree on a slough. Travassos, Portugal Canon
5DII, Canon 24 f/1.4 II L - 24mm, f/10, 1/125s, ISO 500
A few minutes later those clouds on the horizon reached the slough and with them came the rain. I was happy to be in the right place at the right time!
Feb 23, 2012 | Categories: Landscapes, Portugal | Tags: landscape, nature, Portugal, slough, Travassos, tree | Leave A Comment »
Forest are an excellent place to look for details. If it is during a rainy day, the better! Colors get naturally saturated, fallen branches and leaves feel alive, and some moisture or droplets add that little something to a photograph.
Wet branch and leaves on the forest floor. Sezelhe, Portugal
Canon 5DII, Canon 180 f/3.5 Macro - 180mm, f/14, 0.8s, ISO 400
This image is all about finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. How many times did we walk on a forest floor without noticing the patterns and colors of nature? Tripod set, small aperture, shutter speed to stop any motion due to wind or rain droplets and ISO adjusted for a correct exposure. It’s always good to check your histogram after a shot in order not to blow highlights or shadows. Exposure compensation could be applied on those cases.
Leaf covered with droplets. Montalegre, Portugal
Canon 5DII, Canon 180 f/3.5 Macro - 180mm, f/14, 0.5s, ISO 200
By walking slowly with eyes wide open, there are some relics to be found. I spent some time looking for a pristine leaf like this one in a nice a place that could bear an interesting composition. I could have taken any other leaf with droplets and put it in a place I liked, but that is not my approach with nature. I like to photograph nature as it is, I want to show what one could find by walking on the forest, not a set up to document a species or place. For this image I used a LED lantern to get a bit of light on the left side.
Feb 13, 2012 | Categories: Macro, Portugal | Tags: autumn, fall, Gerês, leaf, macro, nature, Portugal | Leave A Comment »
