landscape | alan frost photography

Posts from the ‘landscape’ category

Just before the dark – take 2

This line of trees appeared in my last post ‘Just before the dark’ and I decided to return to the same place a couple of days ago as the late afternoon light and cloud formations suggested the possibility of a colourful sunset. As you can see from these three pictures I was not to be disappointed.

Sunsets are such a popular subject for photographs and it’s easy to understand why. In fact its something of a cliche, but the sheer variety of colours on display is nature at its best, so it’s very hard to resist getting out the camera and releasing the shutter a few times.

The most dramatic skies often appear just after the sun has dipped below the horizon. By this time there is less chance of a blown out area in the frame, as the sensor struggles to cope with the dynamic range of the scene. The light though was fading fast, so a monopod or tripod helps, but both are clumsy items to have with you on a dog walk, so these shots were all handheld. I left the aperture nearly wide open as I wasn’t too worried about depth of field as there was nothing in the foreground which needed to be sharp.

A photographic cliche perhaps, but beautiful all the same.

Do click on any image to view a larger version which will open in a new window.

Just before the dark

Just before dark

I always welcome this time of year. Yes I know the clocks have gone back, so it’s dark well before you sit down for your evening meal. But the colder and shorter days bring great skies and once the leaves have fallen, the true splendour and skeletal shapes of a line of trees can be really be appreciated.

Do click on the image to enjoy a larger version.

Snowdonia – A new gallery page

It’s hard to believe that three months have passed since I visited Snowdonia. I had a great time and after a lot of processing, curating and ten blog entries later, I have now put together a gallery page of what I consider to be my favourite images. The ones that take me straight back to a particular location. I can remember the time of day, the weather conditions and what I was trying to achieve when I took the shot. The gallery is here.

Pressing the shutter doesn’t work every time, far from it in fact, and my ‘keeper rate’ is probably no better than 1 in 50, but I am very happy with that. Sometimes the light wouldn’t be right, or the image would be badly composed or out of focus. Inevitably there would be many occasions when I didn’t select the correct camera settings, or quite simply I was trying to take a photograph when a good image never existed in the first place. But that’s the joy of photography.

I believe that each time you press the shutter you should learn something from the experience. That way I learn more from the ones I didn’t get right, as opposed to the ones that eventually find their way to the printer or onto this blog.

I have included some new images in this entry but the gallery itself is made up of 39 photographs, so do click here to visit the Snowdonia Gallery page.

I do hope to have the opportunity to return to Snowdonia later this year. It’s an inspiring and beautiful place for any visitor, let alone a photographer. The changing light and dramatic scenery are very special indeed.

Last but not least I would like to extend a big thank you to fellow WordPress blogger Andy Beal FRPS for organising and hosting an excellent and instructive workshop. To David Mills ARPS for his extensive knowledge of the area, and finally to the other participants for their company and good humour. Together we had a lot of fun and a week of photograph to remember.

If you want to visit any of the previous blog entries I have added all the links below, together with a thumbnail image to whet your appetite.

Snowdonia – It’s all about the light

Tryfan – a majestic mountain in Snowdonia

Creative use of depth of field in Snowdonia

The appeal of ‘light on dark’ in Snowdonia

Early morning in Snowdonia – with or without a tripod?

The old A5 – Nant Ffrancon valley in Snowdonia

Mist and missing Capel Curig – Happy New Year!

Dinorwic slate quarry – a harsh and inhospitable place.

Cwmorthin slate quarry in Snowdonia – the lower section

Cwmorthin slate quarry in Snowdonia – the upper section

Trees in the mist – an opportunity taken

It’s not very often that I am out and about with my camera when it’s misty. This may be because we don’t seem to experience these conditions very often. Alternatively it could just be that I am too lazy to get up early enough to take some shots, and before the rising sun has had a chance to mess things up!

A few days ago we had a lot of rain and after a cold, dry and still night I was hoping that we might get some mist the following morning. We did, and for once I was mentally prepared. My wife and I, together with our dog, went out for a walk and I had my camera. One camera, my Monochrom; just my 50mm Summilux prime lens to keep it simple, and these are the images I was able to make. I hope you like them.

To view a larger version, just click on an image and it will open in a new window.

Dinorwic slate quarry – a harsh and inhospitable place.

This is a foreboding place. A harsh environment, full of drama and atmosphere. Now redundant but not forgotten. Dinorwic Slate Quarry in Llanberis covers a vast area with the mountains of Snowdon as its backdrop. Closed in 1969 after 170 years of slate extraction, it was once the second largest slate quarry in the world. It was a dangerous, dirty, unhealthy place to work and whilst the workers were skilled, they were also poorly paid.

On my recent visit the rain kept away, but the wind blew and I could only stop and try to imagine what conditions must have been like for those that toiled in such an inhospitable climate, day after day, week after week, year after year.

Whilst Dinorwic Slate Quarry is hardly a place of ‘picture postcard’ beauty, it does have a beauty all of its own, which I like. It’s a place with history, it has a story to tell and what’s important to me is that my photographs have something to say about the location and are not just ‘record’ shots.

Taking the shot is just one step along the path to the finished result. The making of the image is in the processing. It’s only at this stage that I can start to make some creative decisions as to how I would like the picture to be seen by the viewer. Does the image convey any emotion? Does this series of images help tell a story, so that words are hardly necessary? I would like to think the answer is ‘yes’ to both these questions, but I would be interested to hear your thoughts on this as well.

To see more detail in any of the photographs, do click on an image to see a larger version in a new window.

Thanks as always for stopping by and looking at my blog.