2020 has been something of a rather strange year, one that at times has almost seemed as if we have been living within a parallel universe that makes zero sense at all - if it is not a parallel universe it is the set of a giant 60’s psychedelic Sci-Fi hippy movie that we have all been living within. Still though at least with news of vaccines and vaccinations starting to take place as early as next month (December 2020) it could be said,
“That there is light at the end of a very long tunnel”
So hopefully 2021 will begin to look very different and will more than likely be a refreshing change to the year 2020, that being said some more positives is that various regions of the UK have gone back into a “tier approach” of lockdown restrictions and some of them make no sense, could 2020 also be the year in which science has broken? Who knows. Either way the tier system will be reviewed within fourteen days so Christmas might just be saved after all.
Away from that and throughout lockdown I have been inspired and have learnt many things, perhaps the one major thing that I have learnt within lockdown is the following,
“To never take anything for granted”
And that is why I am pleased to announce that next year a new project is being started - one that might prove slightly challenging but then again a challenge can be fantastic and can truly expand our knowledge, the new project is to capture as many waterfalls as I can, of course the waterfall photographs will be available to purchase from the following two places,
Being outdoors and outside in the autumn and winter might seem slightly counterintuitive to being outside during the spring and summer, but it is both the autumn and winter time when you can truly escape. Of course during this secondary lockdown that we are all faced with, that ends on the 2nd of December, thankfully allows us to go outdoors, something that beforehand was overlooked, just getting outside is crucial for out mental health and a nice walk can help our minds relax, especially when we are faced with constant,
Lies, lies and damn statistics.
That somehow keeps on getting updated and published by the government. Anyway away from the mysterious and ugly world of politics which is corrupt to the core, back to the post at hand. Woodland photography.
For autumn is perhaps one of the most glorious seasons of all, along with winter and whilst most people prefer spring and summer along with warmer weather, there has to be something said for cooler weather - when there is not a lot of people around, just getting out and about is so much nicer as places seem less crowded, meaning you can actually go for a walk without coming across crowds of people, something which is sheer bliss. Thankfully the UK offers some fantastic places for being outdoors and to have a nice walk; but some of the best places for walking and exploring are woodlands. Just being surrounded by trees no matter what time of the year it is, has a certain magical charm.
Okay so woodlands in the spring and summer can be fantastic and bluebells within the spring show the first major signs of life that occur just when nature itself is slowly beginning to awaken itself after the deep sleep that begins in late autumn and winter.
Escaping with the Bluebells
An image that I captured at the beginning of Lockdown, bluebells in a wood at Shipley park, seems a long time ago and it is. Now we are in November and the months have just flown by, as a photographer lockdown has made me appreciate the seasons even more than I usually would do and that is something that I quite like, actually seeing the seasons changing and documenting them.
I can imagine a lot of landscape photographers this year have taken the time to appreciate the finer things in life, slowing down and capturing the seasonal change and making time for that, in a time when our lives have been on pause, we have come to notice things more, compared to when things were normal when we missed things because of a certain rush that we were all caught up in - for that is when we ignored the smaller things and hardly paid attention to the seasons.
Now though we are within the season of autumn, the nights are beginning to arrive earlier and the hours within the days are shorter, but as a landscape photographer I shall simply say “do not let shorter days put you off, for both autumn and winter really are the best times to get out”, of anything autumn and winter really are the best times to get out and about for photography, and everything is so much more minimal, it is that element of minimal that means that photographic scenes are easier to compose, you really do not have to over challenge yourself in photography as some of the best images are those that are often the most simplistic.
Thankfully autumn provides us with some amazing scenes of colour, a display of reds, oranges, yellows within the leaves on the trees and some of the best places to explore are woodlands - yes get out there with whatever camera you might have and head for your local woodland, or forest as well and just take time to walk within your local woodland or forest, for starters it is fantastic for mental health and seconds, you get to escape all the doom and gloom of the news and repetitive media that is trying to rule our lives at the moment but is failing.
Just walking through woodlands is pure escapism, but for any photographer it is an easel on the senses; quite literally. Especially within the autumn and winter months as you get to see something of a transition occurring - the leaves and the colours of them provide any photographer the chance to get creative, for it is all about these key points when taking woodland photography.
Think outside the box - Traditional woodland photography seems to be rather “simplistic” and there is nothing at all wrong with that at all, sometimes simplistic shots can be the best. However a woodland provides the photographer with a lot of room to experiment and thinking outside the box can provide the best photographic results.
So why not if you are carrying out woodland photography after it has rained, used any surface water, puddles to your advantage, lower the camera that you are using towards a puddle and shoot the reflection of the trees, as you can see from the following Image, it really can make a difference when you use water to your advantage.
Try looking up, all too often within woodland photography, we are looking in front all the time or around us and below at the ground, all too often a lot of photographers do not look up, and that is perhaps the most secretive part of any woodland, the canopy, so why not place your camera next to a tree, whilst stood underneath that tree and take a photograph looking up towards the canopy of the trees - again this provides a different perspective of woodlands and allows people to see angle that would always be hidden
Try shooting in Black and White - Colours always add a little something to woodland photography, but woodland photography also works equally well, when you switch over to Black and White. It might seem counterproductive but woodland photography really does lend itself to Black and White photography and can bring out hidden details that you otherwise might not see in an image that has been captured in colour. Also in post production when editing, make some adjustments to your black and white image, does it work better being slightly darker or lighter?
Shapes - Woodland photography lends itself to shapes. Shapes in the undergrowth, the shames of the fallen leaves on the ground along with the shapes of the trees and textures. Try using these shapes and textures to your advantage and you are sure to come up with that perfect interesting composition.
Leaves on the ground - Trees do provide interesting compositions, but look at the undergrowth as well, it is here that you are bound to come across something interesting, and one of the most interesting subjects to shoot in a woodland are leaves, so get low with that camera and you are sure to come across something interesting, a unique leaf shape of different shades of a certain colour. Again mushrooms with undergrowth also provide another interesting subject to shoot, during your exploration of woodland.
Be prepared to travel - No woodland is the same, if you can not get what you are looking for in your local woodland that you are used to, why not travel a little further and explore. Maybe here you will find that award winning shot.
Editing and post production - One thing that you should always do is edit. A photograph straight from a camera looks rather dull and bland, so spend your time editing them within post production. Try different settings and in Lightroom play about with the sliders to bring out shades of a certain colour or to strengthen a certain area of your photograph, do not be afraid to over edit then work backwards to a place that you are comfortable with. For anyone using a Smartphone, then you can get some amazing woodland photography and apps such as Lightroom Mobile and Snapseed can provide some amazing ways to edit your woodland photos whilst on the move. *Again Lightroom Mobile and Snapseed are both available for IOS and Android devices*.
One of the advantages of woodland photography is that you can also use a smartphone - hence the fantastic video from Tim Day, so for anyone who is wanting to carry out a bit of woodland photography, then I do hope the videos does help you.
Back to the woodlands though, even as we transition from Autumn to Winter a lot of the colours are lost, the shapes of the trees can still provide us with interesting focal points to capture, and when it snows - this is when the magic happens within woodlands and you really do have to capture the contrast of the snow and the trees.
That being said, will we get any snow this year? That depends, but do not be afraid to get out and shoot woodland scenes in the snow, fog or frost and mists. More importantly though woodland photography is something that you just have to do, a chance to escape from the world can provide us all with that sanctuary that we all need, so why not escape to your local woodland or forest and carry out a bit of photography, you never know what hidden gems you will discover.
Autumn is officially here and as a landscape photographer it is perhaps one of the most beautiful seasons within the photography calendar. The world somehow becomes an easel and the various colours on the trees along with those of the landscape really make for something which is unique. But it is also a season in which,
“Simplicity is the key. Keep it simple and you will end up getting the very best photographic results”.
The key point is that autumn itself lends itself to being a season that is “minimal” with not a lot going on - nature itself is beginning to gradually enter a deep and well earnt sleep, but before it goes to sleep it leaves us with one final finale. Just getting out and about and soaking up this final finale is something that as a landscape photographer I would highly recommend.
Fortunately a couple of weeks ago (when it was October), I was driving back, having been somewhere, when I just had to stop in a particular layby in which there is perhaps one of the most stunning views over Nottinghamshire, naturally though I just had to pull into this layby and take the following two shots.
Simplicity through colour (landscape).
Simplicity through colour (portrait).
And to me, these just sum everything up about autumn, this transitional period of time, before we enter the winter time, Even if autumn is merely a transitional period and remains a rather short season, it is by far the most stunning time of year in which to partake in minimal photography with some radiant and glorious scenes, for this is nature's way of giving us her final finale before she sleeps until she wakes again in Spring, but this is also perhaps the most glorious and stunning finales that anyone will ever see and best of all this rather theatrical season just so happens to be free for all to enjoy, for sometimes simplicity is all you need in the world of photography.
As you might have noticed - something has changed. Yes that is right I have deleted the old posts that were on this blog and that was intended and mainly due to wanting to have a slight clean up on this rather neglected blog.
Lockdown has meant that I have been doing other things, although I have still been productive and carrying out photography that you might have seen on the 28swphotography social media feeds.
In other words a bit of a spruce up has happened with this blog and it has been a while since I have last posted on here, hence why this update is the first “new update”, in quite a while. So what is new? A lot of things, during Lockdown I have managed to do quite a lot of writing and have started two new blogs as well, they can be found here,
The first new blog I started apathlesswalked, is a blog all about exploring and traveling, finding new places and discovering new places, which I have managed to do throughout Lockdown. Strange really how so much, landscape photography involves travel.
The second new blog is about smartphone photography. Yes unbelievably smartphone photography is on the rise and the technology within smartphones means that they are slowly catching up with DSLR and Mirrorless systems, so do keep an eye out on thephonetogger for news, reviews and features surrounding everything smartphone photography related. I must thank Tim Day as well, for inspiring me to set up thephonetogger as well, also his YouTube channel is a must for anyone who owns a smartphone and wants to try their hand at photography - you really would be surprised at the capabilities of a “smartphone camera” these days.
Also 28swphotography is now on Medium, which is where thoughts and opinions will be posted surrounding the world of photography and other related topics such as technology and photography life in general.
Also, the 28swphotography website will be having some work carried out this week, with more photos added along with some other interesting news that I shall keep you informed and updated about.
