High Drama!

It was a very windy, blustery, gusty afternoon up on Bridgestones Moor. The sky was stormy but magnificent, The moor, standing 1400ft above sea level, was relatively dry underfoot. I ventured forth with my Canon 6D and 16-35 f4 IS lens to capture some drama. The raw images turned out great but there was something missing in the straight edit of this excellent

There are occasions when you want to capture the scene ‘as is’. Product photography, commercial shoots and such that require the realistic colours and textures of the items you’re shooting. I have done such shoots and they can be satisfying but for me, landscapes are a different beast.

The photographer and YouTuber Martin Castein, mentions in one of his videos about white balance and how it can convey different emotions to a photograph. Landscapes when you’re out in them, invoke certain emotional responses that commercial shoots don’t. Sometimes you want to present an exaggerated vision of the moment captured and the landscape in which you were shooting. High winds and stormy skies can be portrayed in a more dramatic fashion than just actual documenting the scene when you were there. I created a Lightroom preset to edit the raw images and just tweaked exposure and aspect to suit the shot

The Bridestones sit on top of the aforementioned moor, high above Todmorden in Calderdale, West Yorkshire. They are an outcrop of gritstone moulded and shaped by erosion known as weathering. The indentations, the cracks, the smooth edges have been made by hundreds of thousand of years of exposure to the elements. To those of us living in upper Calderdale, they are an iconic spot and much visited. I have been there many times but interestingly, it is never busy like the famous Cow and Calf rocks above Ilkley. They are in many ways, superior in their location and general wildness in my humble opinion. The high Pennine moorland of Calderdale is vast compared to say Bradford district, although the two run into each other high above the Worth Valley and Bronte country.

I know these types of representations are not to everyone’s taste but I find they convey how I felt at the time of taking the photos. Coming down off the top, I felt truly windswept, as if I’d had some sort of extreme spa treatment. On several shots, I had trouble holding the camera still enough to take them but an increase in shutter speed and a solid camera body helped. One of the many things modern photographers and YouTubers don’t say about full frame DSLR bodies is that their weight and ergonomics are useful at times. Yes, they are heavier than mirrorless cameras but they feel great in the hand and the weight adds stability taking hand held shots. I really don’t get on with tripods, they are a faff and you have to decide on a composition rather than move around quickly to get the better one. I’m loving my return to Canon DSLRs. They are a joy to hold, to use and I love the colours and detail you get out of what is seen as old technology. On commercials shoots, they are a dream because of their rugged reliability. They are also quicker to operate than mirrorless and are instantly ready from when you turn the camera on. The battery life is twice if not more of their mirrorless equivalent which is another advantage when using them commercially.

I hope you like this selection of landscape images and that they convey a little bit of time and place.

DSLR Revival

I started my photography journey on a mirrorless camera. I stuck with them for several years before trying out the Canon DSLR systems and all of a sudden, I realised they were built for photographers rather than hybrid shooters. The joy of instant availability, optical viewfinders and old school simplicity appealed straight away. I stuck with Canon for a while before trying Nikon DSLR s . They were equal but different to Canon and as much fun to use. Then I had my accident and couldn’t contemplate taking the heavier gear around with me.

Ever since, my tastes and needs in Mirrorless have got more expensive and more capable. My current Mirrorless beast has 61mp , blindingly fast autofocus and a relatively small footprint. What it doesn’t have however is any enjoyment in using it. It works flawlessly and is immensely powerful but it lacks something. Photography for me, needs a soulful connection between me and the machine. I was looking back at my most popular and those that have sold well. I realised 80% were shot using DSLR cameras. They all print to a good size and have tons of detail where necessary. The low light images are grain free, sharp and they have a certain look about them.

I decided to sell some mirrorless lenses and my second Sony body to fund re acquiring a couple of old bodies and some lenses . I got hold of the Canon 6D a couple of days ago and have used it a few times now. It’s a joy to use, very comfortable, efficient and surprisingly portable for a full frame DSLR. I’m awaiting a 5D Mark iii which is bigger but not unwieldy. I have a few lenses that all work well and are optically excellent. The camera technology is over 13 years old but doesn’t feel old. The Canon menu system is a breeze and operation is very simple. They clunk when you press the shutter in a quite satisfying way. You feel like you’re taking a photo rather than handling a machine over engineered and crammed full of specs. Don’t get me wrong, my Sony can really deliver but it’s not much fun. I understand why many professionals still like DSLRs for their rugged, dependable abilities and feel more comfortable using them. We’re told in many spheres of modern living that small is beautiful and desirable. I don’t always think that’s the case if pleasure of use is taken away.

My plan therefore, is to slim down my Sony gear to the bare essentials for professional studio shoots and use my Canons for landscapes, travel and street photography. I am more comfortable using big cameras in street situations now and now recovered enough to carry heavier gear, I don’t worry about a couple of extra kilos in gear. One great advantage to DSLRs is the phenomenal battery life you get. Twice, sometimes three times as long from one battery as you would get from my Sony.

Canon made formidable cameras in the 6D and 5D Mark iii. I’m not certain they intended the 6D to be quite as good as it is but they had every intention of beefing up the 5D from the previous model. I fully intend to keep the Canons and not sell them unless I’ve really pushed up their shutter counts. It’s such a joy to use the 6D and long live the DSLR!

Dales Landscape

Every few months, my partner needs to deliver or collect artwork from a gallery in Settle, North Yorkshire. We try to combine the day with half decent weather so I can take a few photos along the way. It’s been a bit grim up north since January, with only a few decent standout days for dry weather. Clouds I like, dark moody skies are excellent. I am ok with very sunny as long as I can find ways round the glare. Wednesday was a very sunny dry day. I am no landscape photographer and do not relish standing in a dramatic landscape in subzero temperatures or torrential rain. I just want to be able to capture some images without too much inconvenience.

I discovered a back road from Grassington to Settle. It’s probably well known but I have never travelled that way so therefore, I discovered it. I took my Canon 6D with me plus a couple of lenses. It is a pleasure to use older technology that can still deliver good quality images. It doens’t have many bells or whistles but I don’t mind. In some ways, I prefer a simple efficient tool to do the job. My GH5 II has loads of tricks up its sleeve but you always feel as if you’re fighting to keep up with what it is capable of. Like an eternal quest for knowledge that you will never quite master. To some, this array of specs is enough to convince you that it is the camera for you. Maybe it is an age thing but increasingly, this only manages to baffle me rather than help. The joy of being out the other day with my 6D was that the basics were what mattered rather than what my camera could do. I know I have barely scratched the surface of what a 12 year old DSLR is capable of and yet it doesn't shout out to you. I was allowed to take in the wonderful landscape of the Yorkshire Dales.

I was born in Yorkshire but grew up in Kent. I have lived back here for 36 years this year and it was only when I moved back, did I really find the wild places the combined counties have to offer. The Dales are a captivating mixture of dramatic rocky hills and farmland. Man’s hand is rarely absent from this landscape. It has been farmed, mined, quarried and lived in for thousands of years. Great viaducts such as the one at Ribblehead, span a broad head to a valley. It became as iconic as the highest of the three peaks, Whernside. I don’t spend enough time in the Dales and would drive through to get to the Lake District. I live in Calderdale which has its share of drama but in an even bleaker fashion. Its moors seem almost more inhospitable but it lacks the rising limestone karst scenery that the Dales possesses.

I enjoyed stopping to see the landscape, to feel less pressure to take the perfect shot. I have and am very guilty of putting too much pressure on myself to produce stunning images most of the time. I know I will fall short and yet I don’t stop to think that I shouldn’t be piling that level of expectation on myself. I am not at the level of those I truly admire but I feel as if I have gone a way down the road towards them. I am training myself to enjoy what’s around me and be more considered when taking photographs. I set my camera up and try to capture what I see and how it could look in the finished image/print. It is good advice to spend time wandering around before you take the photo. Take in the possibilities and look at the possible variations before you press the shutter button. That way, you learn to appreciate what you are taking a photo of.

Joy In Simplicity.

I had an epiphany a couple of weeks ago. No, I haven’t got religion or had a visitation from outer space. I realised something. What if I could have one system for landscape projects and video; and one for street, portrait and daily use? Simple really. The only problem is how do I get both without breaking the bank? The answer came to me one day. What if I slimmed down my micro four thirds set up and keep what I need for video & landscapes and go old school for my portrait, street and daily use. The solution started to become clearer. I put one of my micro four thirds cameras up for sale, sold a lens I wasn’t really using and bought a cheap full frame DSLR. My problem with full frame DSLR’s is the size and weight of them. Generally, the lenses are big and heavy. The bodies are invariably very big and heavy and I end up back in the situation I was in six months ago. I didn’t want to be lugging big bags of gear around with me and causing a recurrence of my neck and shoulder pain.

I searched, researched and found my solution. I went for the Canon 6D. Its a small, light, full frame DSLR with a respectable 20.2mp sensor. It is cheap as it’s getting on but built very solidly. I found one online with a 50mm f1.8 lens at a very good price. I bought the kit along with the highly rated Canon EF 40mm f2.8 pancake lens (also very cheap). I took possession of the items a few days ago. Ive only been out three times with this setup but what a revelation. The camera is very comfortable, lighter than my GH5II and a joy to use. I am a novice with DSLR’s and have much to learn but my first impressions are very favourable. I opted for a full frame because of the ability to work in low light. I also like the fact there isn’t any maths involved when working out the focal length of your lens. No crop factors or calculations as to what focal length your lens actually is. A 50mm lens is 50mm. Talking of the 50mm, it’s a lovely sharp lens. very light, very cheap and surprisingly capable. The 40mm is a sensation, super sharp and good in low light too.

I know the 6D has its haters. Only one card slot and not rugged enough for professionals. It’s solid enough for me and one card slot is fine as I’m not planning on doing any wedding or serious landscape photography with it. Even if I did decide to do those things, I’d just have a spare couple of sd cards in my bag. The whole kit was cheaper than what I am selling the Panasonic G9. I still have the GH5II and a few lenses. It is a brilliant camera and even better video camera. I am happy with that and what it can do. It feels more of a tool whereas the Canon 6D feels more of a joy to use. I carry the small Peak Design camera bag around with me just in case there’s a moment I want to capture. I might get myself a cheap 28mm to complete the set but it is simple, fast and pleasurable to use. The shutter is on silent mode but still sounds pleasantly reassuring. I am only a couple of hundred shots in with it but I feel already, this one is a keeper. If I fell on hard times and had to sell all my MFT gear, I would still have a brilliant, professional grade full frame camera to use, for fraction of the price of a modern full frame mirrorless system. The camera and two lenses weigh very little. Even if I added a 28mm, it would still be lighter than my GH5II with three lenses. It isn’t without its flaws and limitations but I don’t need perfect. I am a novice professional photographer that wants to get better at his art. I want to pick up a camera I don’t have to worry about being precious with and go and take photographs. I want it to be about creating, not accumulating gear.