Inspiration: Neil Burnell

Hailing from Brixham, Neil has been creating some excellent minimalist landscapes recently, well worth checking out his portfolio at:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/135458733@N03

Look Before You Leap

I’ve been described by some of the other members of the club as a “stunt photographer” as I’m often the one who’ll climb down a bank or clamber up and over rocks to get a shot. This technique often serves me well as I get into positions that most can’t or won’t get to, but sometimes this can lead to trouble.

I was at Gwithian over the weekend with the sunset starting to form over Godrevy Lighthouse so I set off looking for a composition; anyone who knows the location will know that around the cliffs near the lighthouse there are lots of large rock formations making it difficult to transverse.

I reached the edge of one cliff and it was a good 15 feet down… looking to my right I noticed the beach went behind the rocks so I though “I’ll get back that way” and climbed down.  After more clambering over slippy and unforgiving rocks I found a nice lead-in line and took my shots, and we were in for an amazing sunset.

Soon the light faded I made my way back, over all the slippery rocks and to the back of the beach I walked around the corner to find the path lead straight into a cave… I was stuck! With the light fading fast I had to find a way up, and after a few minutes I managed to locate a way up and climbed up the 15ft rock-face back to civilization… so the moral is, look before you leap!

Leave nothing but foot-prints

It's always sad when the acts of the few reflect badly on the masses... I came across a few images of Dorset's iconic Durdle Door on fire recently, which was apparently caused by photographers using the wire wool technique to create photos without thinking about where the wool would end up.

This photo from Steve Balcombe gives you an idea of the damage caused.

Steve is a nature photographer from Taunton and his images are well worth a look:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevebalcombe/

Right Place. Right Time

A recent blog post by Melvin Nicholson got me thinking about my local knowledge; even though I've been ardently visiting the local beaches around Whitsand Bay and spending many evenings on the moors around Minions I still feel like I've only just scratched the surface of the photographic opportunities on my own doorstep. 

Killmar Tor, north of Minions

To get good at landscape photography you really do need to put in the leg-work and know where to go, and more importantly when to go there!

In addition, it's also good to remember your gear... on a recent outing I arrived at the beach to find I'd left my favourite wide-angle lens and 10-stop filter on my desk at home!

Melvin has some tips to get you planning in his latest blog post which can be found here:

http://www.melvinnicholsonphotography.co.uk/5938-2/

Inspiration - Dave Adams Automotive Images

I've been following Dave on Flickr for some time and I'm always amazed at how he manages to get access to such a wide variety of classic and vintage cars.

For more, head on over to his Flickr page!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalslrphotos/

‘Master of Photography’: A Major New Photo Competition TV Show

Those of you with access to Sky Arts might be interested in their new show "Master of Photography", which 'aims to do for photography what American Idol did for singing'.

For more details, please follow the link to the article at PetaPixel:

http://petapixel.com/2016/07/08/master-photography-major-new-photo-competition-tv-show/

Huawei P9 Leica camera sample image was actually shot with a $4500 Canon kit

It seems that Huawei have been caught out when promoting their new "dual camera technology" which is supposed to simulate depth-of-field control in their latest smartphone.

The image which was supposed to lure new buyers was actually taken with a Canon 5D Mark III and a Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L which can be easily found using the image EXIF data... oops!

Read more at:

http://www.diyphotography.net/huawei-p9-leica-camera-sample-image-actually-shot-4500-canon-kit/

10 Quotes Every Photographer Should Know

Is your favourite quote in the list? I've always loved this quote from Ansel Adams:

The negative is comparable to the composer's score and the print to its performance. Each performance differs in subtle way.
 

I feel this is just as true today as it was in the days of film, and why it's sometimes good to look back over your previous work.

http://digital-photography-school.com/10-quotes-every-photographer-know/

Freathy Photo-walk

Another quiet photo-walk, the weather seems to be the main reason for staying away and it was probably a wise idea with no sunset on offer, the moody sea-mist clearing far to quickly and even the tide was too far out to get shots of the waves crashing over the rocks... and to top it all off I'd left my 10-stop filter at home!

Surfing Among Ice-Covered Volcanoes in Kamchatka, Russia

While it's true there are many great photo opportunities close to home, sometimes you need to travel to get a unique spectacle, such as surfers against snow capped mountains:

Read more at the blog post by by Tania Elisarieva:

http://travel.resourcemagonline.com/2016/06/surfing-among-volcanoes-in-kamchatka-russia/7888/