Panoramic view from Berry Pomeroy, June 15th 2018
A remarkably fortunate composition with the sun just left of centre behind the cloud formation, the distant skyline shows the peaks and tors of almost all of the southern edge of Dartmoor… This is a 46mp image but I’ve had to upload a smaller version for now…
Wheat field view at Waddeton, Near Paignton, June 2018
One of my new locations with an amazing view over the Dart valley to the moors.
Sunset from Old Mill Farm on the Dart, 7th May 2018
Same place again! I’ve been studying that little boat which makes a great subject to fill in the middle ground of shots from here. Every sunset is different and this one was very pink!
Rapeseed Field – Waddeton, 7th May 2018
We now have a few very yellow fields near us but I’ve only takes pictures of one so far.
Sunset from Old Mill Farm, 20th April 2018
We got a real taste of summer for a few days and I made the most of it. On this day I walked from home along windy common and then down through Galmpton village, down Mill Lane to the River Dart at Mill Point, enjoying the late afternoon sunshine.
Old Mill Farm near Galmpton, 4th April 2018
Same evening as the shots below, my intention was to shoot some pics from Mill Head but the lovely and exclusive gateway view was already taken with a family so I politely moved on down the track to the next spot, and as the hedgerow obscuring the river stopped this amazing view was revealed.
As you get to the bottom of the path the signpost shows you the direction of the public footpath, and I paused with my monopod and grabbed this first picture. The original was intentionally underexposed and required a fair bit of Photoshop raw processing to bring it to life, but also have to give credit to my new Tokina 11-16mm lens for making this really arty and cinematic, the mild fish-eye effect at 11m helping to surround the bay and frame the shot. (160th/sec, F5.6, ISO400)
I wanted to ‘test the water’ for potential night sky photography from this area as well so I waited for Venus to show, sat with my back against the wall and the monopod between my legs I took a deep breath and gripped the handle to steady a long exposure the best I could; and surprisingly managed up to a second with Venus still solid and sharp; but also blurring the fast-running water quite a bit.
I have to give a big shout out to Manfrotto for sending me their new improved Alu 290 Monopod after my old model fell apart, the new design is far better and a monopod is a great tool to have. I’ve got a proper sturdy Manfrotto tripod as well but it’s a bit of a pain to carry if you’re on a walking mission.
Galmpton Creek, 4th April 2018
First trip out with my new Tokina 11-16mm wide-angle lens, down to the creek once again to photograph the ‘golden hour’ of warm lighting just before the sunset. With this lens being an F2.8 it allows a bit more room to grab good focal depth, the wide angle is actually too wide for some shots; these two pics make use of the foreground and have multiplayer layers of depth to them.
I’m making good use of raw file processing in Photoshop including lens profile corrections which remove the vignetting and lens curvature, and it allows me to reduce the wide contrast which you often get between the bright sky and dark shadows; making a more natural and detailed image.
Low Tide at Galmpton Creek, 20th June 2017
Gorgeous golden light rays burning across the creek, and the light crackling sound of seaweed and air escaping from the recently exposed muddy shoreline.
Another attempt at the creek. This time rather than trying to capture the whole scene I walked down the beach towards the water’s edge, and this is more zoomed in attempting to frame the picture using the boat on the left. The eye should lead from the muddy shoreline in the foreground to the boats and then to the distance on the right; looking up the river towards Totnes. Raw tools got me the right colour balance to show the hazy layers and the golden evening sunlight highlighting the scene.
This picture was taken mid evening after the Sun had set and a thick mist had formed in the low lying valleys around the river. In the foreground you can just make out one of the campsites in Galmpton, then behind the fields of South Hams roll all the way to Dartmoor; notice the unique double-peak outline of Haytor to the right on the distant horizon.
I’m not short on picturesque locations where I live but the weather and lighting has to be just right as well. Looking from this side of the river, Torbay side, I’m usually shooting towards the Sun but these shots are both looking 90 degrees to the left of the Sunset direction and with softened sunlight through some cloud. Direct sunlight isn’t always a good thing for photography. The picture above is looking in the Dartmouth direction from ‘Buttercup Field’ near Galmpton Creek.
Only the second day out with my new DSLR (December 2005), having just upgraded from a cheap pocket digital camera. One of my favourite and most photogenic places that I visit is Galmpton Creek, it is a private boatyard but parts of it are open to the public. This picture really shows the peace and tranquility of the moment, still waters creating an almost perfect reflection. Walking in either direction from the creek brings many more photo opportunities.