Snowed in for a day at Keldy Forest - tips for snow photography

Keldy Forest
Nikon D800E 16-35 f4

We spent the weekend in Keldy Forest in North Yorkshire. Having driven there in driving snow by Saturday morning it was so deep that the road was closed. This was very exciting for the kids. From my perspective I had a camera and a tripod and was hoping to capture some minimalist and dramatic snowscapes.

Keldy Forest
D800E 70-200 f2.8

Photographing the open spaces that are accentuated by the snow is of course an exposure challenge and some of the images here were shot 3 stops overexposed, with the snow being a great minimaliser. The forest itself was stunning with some of the tree trunks covered in patches of snow.

Beware walking on soft snow that has fallen on ground that is not frozen. I have heard of photographers getting stuck in mud under deep snow, and falling, thereby dropping their gear, and cameras do not like a bath in snow.

Keldy Forest
Nikon D800E 16-35 f4

Beware the cold reducing battery power and therefore make sure you have enough with you.

Be aware that the exposure is difficult and therefore check your histogram or bracket - in general add light.

Make sure your tripod is steady. This can be difficult in deep soft snow that has fallen on soft ground. The only tip I have is to push the tripod legs into the snow and ensure it is steady before you expose the shot.

Keldy Forest
Nikon D800E 16-35 f4

Remember that walking in deep snow is tiring and so be aware how far you are going and do not allow yourself to become so engrossed in the beauty of the landscape to forget where you are and what you are doing.

If you have any further tips please let me know them.

Beach photography tips

I spend a lot of hours by the sea photographing the coast, usually taking long exposures. I am often asked for tips on my approach and how to do it. So Here are a few of the common tips I pass on.

1. Know the tides.
2. Know where the sun will be.
3. Make sure you have suitable footwear.
4. Have a bag that protects your gear from the sand and make sure the bag is put down well away from the surf and out of the range of the waves. Remember the rogue wave. Rucksacs/backpacks can be a problem as you can get coved in wet sand. The Lowepro Flipsides are good to prevent this or use a shoulder bag.

5. Use flat feet for your tripod or rest the legs on pebbles. I usually do the latter as I forget the feet or do not want to carry them.
6. Watch the weather. I have been caught when I have been so engrossed in the scene and I got drowned by a rain storm. Beaches can be very isolated and have no protection. I always carry waterproofs in my bag, but even so it can be miserable.
7. Unless you want people, dogs or footprints go to isolated places, go very early or as the tide recedes.

Dawn and coast erosion at Hunmanby Gap

I was present at dawn this morning at Hunmanby Gap on the North Yorkshire coast just south of Filey. I had remained close to home as I had ordered some new kit from one of the top UK photographic retailers with a large internet presence based on the east of the island and paid for it to be delivered on a Saturday. Waiting in all day I found out that Parcelforce could not find my house, despite the fact that they had the same address as usual and had delivered here many times before. The delivery services are so important to online sales as the image of the company one purchases from is damaged by the poor service that many of the couriers provide. Suffice to say I am considering purchasing from another company now that uses a different carrier and expect a refund of the extra money spent to get a Saturday delivery.

Back to the pleasures of life - Hunmanby Gap like most of the Yorkshire coast is collapsing. There has been a major collapse just beneath one of the churches in Whitby - easily seen from the pier and I have so far photographed cliff collapses in Filey and here. I have been documenting the erosion photographically for several years now.

Hunmanby Gap cliff erosion Jan 2013
Nikon D800E 16-35@16mm 3s@f11

Hunmanby Gap is usually quiet and has fewer dog walkers than many of the beaches in the area. Therefore one can do long exposures more easily and there are fewer footprints in the sand. At low tide there are many different natural beach features to use as foregrounds, including some coloured pebbles and stones. As I like calm muted colour sand  monochromes I concentrated today on the flow of water from a 'stream' through the sand.

Blue flow (Euterpe I)
Nikon D800E 16-35@16mm 191s@f11

New year - new style

My photography has evolved in the last 12 months particularly. I use it to relax and convey calm, but until now have not particularly displayed this side of my image making. I have always taken images that try to provoke thought and emotion and this year will be taking fewer images of the documentary type of landscape and displaying more of the images I have been making for myself. Therefore I will be displaying colour as well as monochrome. However I am not a great fan of the somewhat cliche over saturated colours of the majority of colour landscapes, although some of the natural skies can be very bright at times.

Terpsichore I
Scarborough North Bay
D800E 16-35 @26mm 1/6@f16

This is one of a series of images I am working on inspired by The Muse Terpsichore. I love the light and reflections in this. Some of the sandy beaches on the Yorkshire coast are flat enough to have a sheen of water that is great for reflections and I often use this in my images of the coast. On this day the beach was full of people, mainly walking their dogs. The south end of the north bay is usually quieter and has areas of wet sand that reflect and I knew I would be able to grab this image. I like the slight blur in the people which helps to anonymise them.

New year on the beach

New Year walking I, Scarborough, North YorkshireNex 7 E55-210 1/400@f9

Metered off the sunlight reflecting off the waves and exposed again to silhouette the people. In this image the sun is rim lighting the man's head.

Another holiday season over and the beaches were crowded on New Years Day with the traditional walk on the beach. This was increased this year on the Yorkshire coast because of the terrible weather and the first day we had seen sun for over a week, indeed the first day with no rain for longer than that!

New Year walking II, Scarborough, North Yorkshire
Nex 7 E55-210 1/100@f9

Taken with the sun behind again to anonymise the people and to render them in a more abstract way.