Recently on one of my workshops, a participant mentioned that Landscape photography is like a “metaphor for life” – in that you have to slow down and watch what the light is doing.

That “waiting for the light” is second nature to landscape photographers. Changing light and its effect on the landscape especially at sunrise is a landscape photographers dream. Most people don’t see it. Either in bed or too busy with their lives to slow down. Light is what makes a photograph. It is the most important tool a photographer has to generate mood, atmosphere and depth.

Take the series of images below as an example of how light changes the mood and atmosphere of a location. The first image on the left was shot a 5.16a.m as dawn was breaking while the image on the right was taken 45minutes later from a similar location.

As a set of images both are interesting. The image in the left is more subtle. It relies on the cool blue tones and gentle lighting to generate atmosphere. While the second scene is more dramatic, as the rising sun bathes bathes the distant valley in early morning light.

Which ever you prefer is a matter of choice.

Later that evening, I headed back towards Glencolmcille or Glen as it is known by the locals. This would serve as my base for a few days. The location has every thing a photographer would want, mountains, cliffs, beaches and of course a few good pubs!!

Despite the temptation of the local hospitality, I am standing somewhat precariously at the edge of a headland. A few feet below me the sea is heaving. To my left Glenhead rises over 760ft from the sea, while the setting sun and encroaching clouds make the sky as dramatic as the location.

As always the camera is tripod mounted and looking through the viewfinder I carefully frame the scene to include the rocks on the left of the image you see below. Without the rocks on the left the scene would look unbalanced.

With light levels dropping like a stone, a long shutter speed was always going to be the order of the day. With long shutter speeds come movement, and in this instance I wanted to exaggerate the movement in the sea and sky as much possible. To do that the ISO setting on the camera was dropped from the standard 100 ISO to 50 ISO. Which gave me an exposure of 15seconds at F13.

Tripping the shutter as a wave rolled in, the result is the mage you see below.

The following morning at the more respectable hour of 7a.m I am standing at the edge of pontoon peering through the view finder across Lough Auva to the Slieve league.

It was a location I had come across previously, and had earmarked for a return visit. The pontoon formed a nice if possibly clichéd foreground, and as the sun highlighted details on the distant hills and everywhere else except for the pontoon in front of me. I fired a number of frames. However the shot wasn’t quite right, so as all landscape photographers do I sat back and waited for the light.

Twenty minutes later and my patience paid off. Sunlight illuminated the pontoon and as you can see from image above that bit of light on the pontoon makes the picture. Hell there was even time for a self portrait. What else can you do in the bog a 07.30 in the morning!?

It annoys me no end when you arrive at a location, set-up your tripod and camera and are standing waiting for the light. Then some eejit appears with a tripod waltzes on by you proceeds to set-up his gear, while standing in the midst of your shot.

Or even worse, when someone arrives at a location and sets up so close to you that you are practically playing twister.  Where is the originality in that?

Rant over, but sometimes respect for others works in your favour. Take the images below as an example.

The location was a jetty outside of  Anagassan, overlooking Dundalk Bay in County Louth Ireland. A location I have visited many times during all seasons and conditions. But somehow I have always managed to come away thinking there is something more.

I had arrived the previous evening to this location, only to find another photographer already working the scene. Pain in the ass, but hey fair is fair. Off I went.

So the next day I arrived earlier and to near perfect conditions. In the distance the Cooley Mountains and Dundlak Bay stood partially hidden by passing sun showers, while the jetty I stood on was partially submerged by the waters of the Irish Sea.

With the previous evening in mind and before any other tripod wielding invader arrived, I pitched my Manfrotto and Canon 5DMK11 and waited and watched.

The conditions were a photographers dream. In between rain and rainbows, the sun highlighted features in the landscape as waves gently rolled in and submerged my feet.

Even after all these years, it never ceases to amaze me how quickly light can change a scene. The images below are an example of such.

Canon 5DMK11 17-40F4L ISO50 F13@10sec

Canon 5DMK11 17-40F4L ISO100 F13@20sec

Same location photographed twenty minutes apart. You can’t beat nature’s magic!

Some images of the day are below, while a sample slideshow can be viewed by clicking here .

]]> http://www.photoimagery.net/note-pad/lisa-robbies-wedding/feed/ 0 http://www.photoimagery.net/latest-images/glencolmcille-headland/ http://www.photoimagery.net/latest-images/glencolmcille-headland/#comments Mon, 09 Aug 2010 19:44:02 +0000 Peter http://www.photoimagery.net/?p=1780

In front of me lies a golden beach and the Atlantic ocean. Behind me Mweelrea basques in golden evening light. To describe the location as beautiful would be something of an understatment.

It is hard to believe that a few weeks earlier, I stood at the same spot, soaked to the skin whilst almost deafened by a howling wind.

Isolated and wild this remote part of Ireland takes the full brunt of passing Atlantic storms. The only reminder of those wild days are the small twisted and malformed weather beaten trees.

After scurrying across the beach, and with the sun casting a warm glow across the landscape I find myself weaving between dunes looking for a compositon. All the time trying not to leave any foot prints in locations I might photograph.

After numerous attempts, I finally settle on a composition that I believe captures the beauty of the location, the shape and textures of the dunes, the ocean and distant hills.

As always before I even press the shutter, auto pilot kicks in and I run through my usual pre click ritual. Checking grads are aligned , making sure the camera is level, exposure check, and finally wondering if the composition works at all. The last point being the most important.

It is all too easy in this digital age to turn up and run and shoot at a location. I can’t help but smile when people say to me they photographed the same location and took loads of shots, but got “nothing like your shot”. Looking at their work it becomes obvious that the important things like composition have been give no consideration. Composition above all else is most important.

Ok, enough rambling. After capturing the above image,that depicts the location. I head out further along the beach to the headland that over looks the shoreline.

From there, Mweelrea stood illuminated by a band of sunshine whilst its summit lay hidden by a layer of cloud that was tumbling in. With a 17-40mm lens mounted to the camera and a 3stop graduated Neutral density filter in place I work quickly in the rapidly changing light. Shooting a number of images at different shutter speeds I am most happy with the image below. Here a shutter speed of 1/15th and an aperture of F13 combined with the composition have captured an image of subtle contrasts.

As the last light of day fading into night, and with the taste of sea on my lips, thoughts of a cold beer in Gaynors bar in Leenane were first and fore most in my mind. Too strong a temptation to resist and with enough images to be content with I relent and make for the car along the shore.

Walking bare foot along the cool sand, I could not stop myself from endlessly stopping and lifting the camera to the eye, observing the beautiful dusky sky mixing with the retreating tide.

As the sun set and after taking numerous other images, the image I am happiest with was the last one of the night. The image below is a mysterious West of Ireland seascape.

To capture this image and create the soft water effect, I used the slowest shutter speed I could get. To do that I set the ISO value on the camera to 50, attached two Singh Ray graduated neutral desnity filters to the lens, and set an aperture of F13.

With cable release in hand and as the tide rolled in then out I tripped the shutter, and listened to the silence. Thity seconds later the shutter closed, and I was off in the hope of catching last orders.

That journy back to the car took longer than I thought!

Delaying that cool beer was it worth it?