fieldnotes : silver lining photography : beautiful images for home office and publication


info@silverliningphotography.co.uk 07941 872298 Field notes the story behind the shots Whenever I display my work publicly, I'm invariably asked how I took the shot. I take great pleasure in replying and, in most cases, the potential customer gains something from the exchange and, often, make a sale as a result. In a new series, I'm selecting some of my favourite images for an in depth look behind the scenes at the decisions and techniques leading up to the taking stage and any processing afterwards. 1: Snowdonia : January 2012 (Canon EOS 5D, 17-35mm (at 35mm) ISO 100, 1/30sec @ f13, tripod mounted, cable release, ND0.3 grad. multi-frame stitch For me, winter is the time of year I get my best shots in terms of sheer drama. It may be kinder for the dawn shoots in terms of the alarm clock, but often a good deal harder in terms of temperature. Let me say from the beginning, that to achieve images like this, a good deal of planning is required to minimise disappointment and it is this that lies at the heart of any serious outing I make. A bit of luck and a sprinkling of experience/knowledge will, hopefully, produce a pleasing result. Weather My first consideration is the weather. This is not for my comfort but is a crucial element in determining the likelihood of a good result. The weather will determine the light falling on the landscape, with time of year and time of day determining the temperature and angle of that light. Winter has a knack of throwing up opportunities to capture images with low raking light and warm tones that we all like for longer periods of the day. So I study the weather, often looking for periods of sustained high pressure with the possibility of clouds to add drama and dappled light. Here, it is experience that helps to decide if the odds are good. Location Once the weather is sorted, it's time to choose the location. I have my favourite places - South Wales, Brecon Beacons, The Cotswolds, Snowdonia, North East coastline to name a few - and each will need to be planned for. I pore over maps. I study them in great detail (favouring the OS series for detail). What am I looking for? Well, a number of things; interesting geographical features, potential places for sunrise/sunset and, importantly for me, new places where not too many others have stuck their tripods! Then, its more mundane logistics - travel, accommodation (including costs for these!) and deciding what time, or even which day(s) to depart and return. Make no mistake, fuel, accommodation and sustenance costs can be significant over a 2 or 3 day period so I want to be sure I can come away with shots which will not only cover these costs but make me a decent profit too! Equipment Then there's equipment - and I don't mean just the camera gear! British mountains in winter are not to be underestimated and will be unforgiving for those ill prepared. It is essential to be properly protected from the elements for both safety and comfort. You do not want to be the subject of a search and rescue effort and the enjoyment of the scenery in front of you will wane if you are cold. Make a list of essentials. Do NOT understimate or skimp in this area! Allow plenty of time. Landscape photography is wonderful for slowing down the pace of life, taking the opportunity to look more carefully and appreciate the wonders around you. Give yourself time to do a reconnaissance of the area in mind, a kind of rehearsal. This will often pay dividends either by working out unforeseen obstacles or discovering potential opportunities and working out the best place for the best composition.. It means you can go straight to position for the actual shoot, saving both time and effort. Be patient. If you've found the ideal location and worked out your composition, be satisfied with that. Set up your gear and wait. And wait some more! I have found my most successful shots are where I have done just this. It is very tempting to get a few shots and move on to find another place. I've learned to resist this. If you've done all your homework, and followed ALL the steps to this point then you don't need to move on. Save the other views for another time and concentrate on maximising the one before you. I would rather come away with one shot I am bursting with pride about than several so, so shots. For a couple of years I read (and still do follow) David Noton's despatches) and one of the things I admired from his essays was the dedication shown in getting THE shot. The Shoot At last - the shoot itself. Need I say that you should check you have all the gear you need and that includes spare, fully charged batteries, memory cards, something to sit on and something to eat and drink? You may have noticed I have not made mention of a single brand name. Why? Simply, I don't care what brand you use, as long as it is the best quality you can afford and is up to the job of creating your end requirements. I do use a sturdy tripod, full frame DSLR camera, quick release plate, cable release, polariser and ND Grad filters. So, I'm all ready to go - view unfolding before me and it's all coming together nicely. Is any of this lucky? I don't think so. Camera is set to aperture priority mode (I want to be in control of depth of field). Images will be captured in RAW mode to allow for optimum processing. I take several spot meter readings of 'greyish' areas - I find blue sky or green grass is often fairly accurate. I note the details of exposure and shutter speed. I attach cable rease to camera. I attach camera to tripod via quick release plate. I check camera is level referring to either in built spirit level, or hotshoe mounted type. I take care selecting composition and framing, looking around all the edges and making sure everything I want is included and everything I dont want is excluded. I set camera to manual mode (entering previously noted settings). I add grad filter. I check everything again and then take my first shot. Then I wait. I take more shots and keep on doing this until the light has faded or the moment has passed. In this case I stayed in the same position for over 2 hours. Now you know why keeping warm is important! Oh, the thin gloves with little rubber grips helped too! For the panoramic shot above I follow a fairly simple routine. First, the camera is orientated in portrait position. This is because at the stitching stage (more later) some of the sky and forground will be cropped. Lens is set not too wide, to reduce distortion or curvature. Polariser is removed, or rotated to minimal effect to reduce uneven effects of blue sky deepening. Then, a series of generously overlapping frames are shot at the same exposure settings, taking care to include more than needed at the beginning and end of the sequence. The processing. I'm often asked if I've used HDR - apparently that's cheating!. I'm not ashamed to say I DO use HDR techniques but apply those techniques manually and with a good deal of restraint. The goal in mind is always to recreate the scene I saw with my eyes and NOT to add anything else. Nature can paint a scene with wondrous colour, and if you are there when that happens, there is no need to add anything whether that is a saturation boost or a deepening of the blue/red/orange sky. Quite simply, it is a given that the camera sensor often cannot reproduce what we see as accurately as our eyes do. By manually blending differently 'exposed' RAW files (Photoshop) processed as lightly as possible ( Lightroom}, I can get closer to the reality of the scene. All that remains is to stitch the frames together. Photoshop does a great job of this using an automated action. Is this cheating? Given all that has gone before I allow myself this indulgence. Finally, all that remains is to flatten, crop and save the final image - usually as a high res TIFF file. So its as simple as that - anyone could do it! Did I mention the freezing night under canvas or the 3.5 hr drive each way?

info@silverliningphotography.co.uk
07941 872298

Field notes the story behind the shots

Whenever I display my work publicly, I'm invariably asked how I took the shot. I take great pleasure in replying and, in most cases, the potential customer gains something from the exchange and, often, make a sale as a result.

In a new series, I'm selecting some of my favourite images for an in depth look behind the scenes at the decisions and techniques leading up to the taking stage and any processing afterwards.

1: Snowdonia : January 2012
(Canon EOS 5D, 17-35mm (at 35mm) ISO 100, 1/30sec @ f13, tripod mounted, cable release, ND0.3 grad. multi-frame stitch

For me, winter is the time of year I get my best shots in terms of sheer drama. It may be kinder for the dawn shoots in terms of the alarm clock, but often a good deal harder in terms of temperature. Let me say from the beginning, that to achieve images like this, a good deal of planning is required to minimise disappointment and it is this that lies at the heart of any serious outing I make. A bit of luck and a sprinkling of experience/knowledge will, hopefully, produce a pleasing result.

Weather
My first consideration is the weather. This is not for my comfort but is a crucial element in determining the likelihood of a good result. The weather will determine the light falling on the landscape, with time of year and time of day determining the temperature and angle of that light. Winter has a knack of throwing up opportunities to capture images with low raking light and warm tones that we all like for longer periods of the day. So I study the weather, often looking for periods of sustained high pressure with the possibility of clouds to add drama and dappled light. Here, it is experience that helps to decide if the odds are good.

Location
Once the weather is sorted, it's time to choose the location. I have my favourite places - South Wales, Brecon Beacons, The Cotswolds, Snowdonia, North East coastline to name a few - and each will need to be planned for. I pore over maps. I study them in great detail (favouring the OS series for detail). What am I looking for? Well, a number of things; interesting geographical features, potential places for sunrise/sunset and, importantly for me, new places where not too many others have stuck their tripods!

Then, its more mundane logistics - travel, accommodation (including costs for these!) and deciding what time, or even which day(s) to depart and return. Make no mistake, fuel, accommodation and sustenance costs can be significant over a 2 or 3 day period so I want to be sure I can come away with shots which will not only cover these costs but make me a decent profit too!

Equipment
Then there's equipment - and I don't mean just the camera gear! British mountains in winter are not to be underestimated and will be unforgiving for those ill prepared. It is essential to be properly protected from the elements for both safety and comfort. You do not want to be the subject of a search and rescue effort and the enjoyment of the scenery in front of you will wane if you are cold. Make a list of essentials. Do NOT understimate or skimp in this area!

Allow plenty of time.
Landscape photography is wonderful for slowing down the pace of life, taking the opportunity to look more carefully and appreciate the wonders around you. Give yourself time to do a reconnaissance of the area in mind, a kind of rehearsal. This will often pay dividends either by working out unforeseen obstacles or discovering potential opportunities and working out the best place for the best composition.. It means you can go straight to position for the actual shoot, saving both time and effort.

Be patient.
If you've found the ideal location and worked out your composition, be satisfied with that. Set up your gear and wait. And wait some more! I have found my most successful shots are where I have done just this. It is very tempting to get a few shots and move on to find another place. I've learned to resist this. If you've done all your homework, and followed ALL the steps to this point then you don't need to move on. Save the other views for another time and concentrate on maximising the one before you. I would rather come away with one shot I am bursting with pride about than several so, so shots. For a couple of years I read (and still do follow) David Noton's despatches) and one of the things I admired from his essays was the dedication shown in getting THE shot.

The Shoot
At last - the shoot itself. Need I say that you should check you have all the gear you need and that includes spare, fully charged batteries, memory cards, something to sit on and something to eat and drink? You may have noticed I have not made mention of a single brand name. Why? Simply, I don't care what brand you use, as long as it is the best quality you can afford and is up to the job of creating your end requirements. I do use a sturdy tripod, full frame DSLR camera, quick release plate, cable release, polariser and ND Grad filters. So, I'm all ready to go - view unfolding before me and it's all coming together nicely. Is any of this lucky? I don't think so.

Camera is set to aperture priority mode (I want to be in control of depth of field). Images will be captured in RAW mode to allow for optimum processing. I take several spot meter readings of 'greyish' areas - I find blue sky or green grass is often fairly accurate. I note the details of exposure and shutter speed. I attach cable rease to camera. I attach camera to tripod via quick release plate. I check camera is level referring to either in built spirit level, or hotshoe mounted type. I take care selecting composition and framing, looking around all the edges and making sure everything I want is included and everything I dont want is excluded. I set camera to manual mode (entering previously noted settings). I add grad filter. I check everything again and then take my first shot. Then I wait. I take more shots and keep on doing this until the light has faded or the moment has passed. In this case I stayed in the same position for over 2 hours. Now you know why keeping warm is important! Oh, the thin gloves with little rubber grips helped too!

For the panoramic shot above I follow a fairly simple routine. First, the camera is orientated in portrait position. This is because at the stitching stage (more later) some of the sky and forground will be cropped. Lens is set not too wide, to reduce distortion or curvature. Polariser is removed, or rotated to minimal effect to reduce uneven effects of blue sky deepening. Then, a series of generously overlapping frames are shot at the same exposure settings, taking care to include more than needed at the beginning and end of the sequence.

The processing.
I'm often asked if I've used HDR - apparently that's cheating!. I'm not ashamed to say I DO use HDR techniques but apply those techniques manually and with a good deal of restraint. The goal in mind is always to recreate the scene I saw with my eyes and NOT to add anything else. Nature can paint a scene with wondrous colour, and if you are there when that happens, there is no need to add anything whether that is a saturation boost or a deepening of the blue/red/orange sky. Quite simply, it is a given that the camera sensor often cannot reproduce what we see as accurately as our eyes do. By manually blending differently 'exposed' RAW files (Photoshop) processed as lightly as possible ( Lightroom}, I can get closer to the reality of the scene. All that remains is to stitch the frames together. Photoshop does a great job of this using an automated action. Is this cheating? Given all that has gone before I allow myself this indulgence. Finally, all that remains is to flatten, crop and save the final image - usually as a high res TIFF file.

So its as simple as that - anyone could do it! Did I mention the freezing night under canvas or the 3.5 hr drive each way?