Posts tagged ‘photography’
Driving home yesterday the sun was streaking through the clouds in a stunning fashion. Unusually, I did not have my camera with me (note to self) and I knew that I had lost a rare moment. Once home and undeterred I thought it still worth walking up to nearby viewpoint while the sun was setting.
Sunset and trees. Lumix G3, 45mm (90mm in 35mm equivalent), f7.1, 1/500 sec, ISO160, tripod.
I planned my walk with the help of The Photographer’s Ephemeris- a really useful smartphone app. The Photographer’s Ephemeris (or TPE) is a tool to help with the planning of all types of outdoor photography, but it comes into its own in landscape and urban scenes. It is a map-centric sun and moon calculator that allows you to see how the light will fall on the land in terms of bearings, and gives the rising/setting times for sun and moon. It has been available for iOS (iPhone and iPad) for sometime, and an Android app was released recently.
Using TPE allowed me to position my camera at the right altitude and position to plan for the setting sun. I wanted to include the canopy of a small copse of trees in the lower portion of the frame.
I was armed with my new Lumix G3, a replacement for my GF2, plus 45-200 lens (equivalent 90-400mm in 35mm), and of course my tripod. One major advantage of the G3 over the GF2, other than having a larger sensor, is that a cable release can be used; making it much more convenient than using the self-timer to reduce camera shake.
There were still some spectacular cloud formations gathering around the dying sun and I took a lot of shots. I hope you enjoy a couple of my favourites. You can read some more of my posts on photography.
Sunset, trees and stormy clouds. Lumix G3, 72 mm (144mm in 35mm equivalent), f6.3, 1/640 sec, ISO200, tripod.
Gabriel Hemery
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Black poplar Populus nigra (subspecies betulifolia) is a tree native to Britain and well-adapted to our floodplains. The species is widespread across the country but never common.
Black poplars often lean, and when in leaf their characteristic diamond-shaped leaves (cuneate leaf-bases) also help in identification. Female trees are very rare and so many trees in our landscape are clonal in origin. Due to conservation efforts to increase the number of trees, when at one time there were thought to be only 7000 left in the country, the species has been planted widely across the country.
I found a group of eight mature black poplars near Wallingford in Oxfordshire. The dramatic clouds added a dynamic touch to the composition of the photo and the low angle of the sun added tone and texture. To avoid lens flare I placed the camera, mounted on a tripod, precisely so that the sun was hidden partially behind the stem of the nearest tree.
Black Poplar trees near Wallingford in Oxfordshire
Photograph: Lumix GF2, 7mm (14mm in 35mm equivalent), f11, 1/200sec, ISO100. Tripod.
Gabriel Hemery
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The elm that was
This is the latest in my Elm series; my last image being Ghost elm.
I captured the shadow of a very large and healthy Cornish elm Ulmus minor subsp. angustifolia growing in East Sussex. It is one of the last large elm trees remaining alive in England, following the spread of Dutch Elm Disease, which has all but wiped out the majestic elm. The dark chasm depicts figuratively the loss of the elm in the English rural landscape.
I used burn and dodge tools in Adobe Lightroom to create the effect of a chasm in the ground. I left a subtle hint of colour amongst the darkness to help suggest depth (visible at full size). Some small adjustments of greens and yellows helped enhance the already strong tree shadow in the grass. Taken with a Lumix GF2 with 7mm lens (14mm at 35mm equivalent), f11, ISO100.
Gabriel Hemery
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High up in a Dartmoor valley, at the upper limit of tree life, I discovered these two rowan trees clinging to the granite clitter (the debris below a tor). They were among a group of scattered rowan trees growing in one of my favourite places, known as Tavy Cleave. I was searching for tree subjects to be included in The New Sylva. Neither of these two trees were selected as drawing subjects by artist Sarah Simblet but one close-by was a perfect subject. I hope to provide a sneak preview of the drawing on the book website soon.
The River Tavy can be seen bottom left. It rises 6km further upstream, far beyond Tavy Cleave Sharp; the tor just visible below the crown of the left-hand rowan. The head of the river is one of the most inspiring wilderness areas remaining in Britain: a landscape of extraordinary peat hags, and home to the raven. As I explored the trees among the clitter, wheatears flitted quickly between the rocks showing their white rumps, while overhead skylarks were in full song.
Rowan trees, Dartmoor. Lumix GF2, 7mm (14mm equivalent in 35mm), 1/320sec, f11, ISO100. Handheld. March 2012.
Subject: Rowan Sorbus aucuparia trees, sometimes known as the mountain ash.
Location: Tavy Cleave, Dartmoor, Devon, South West England. 350m altitude.
Equipment: Lumix GF2, 7mm (14mm equivalent in 35mm), 1/320sec, f11, ISO100. Handheld, resting on rock.
Processing: Post-processed in Lightroom. Converted to Black & White. Greens and Yellows increased 25%. Cropped square.
Gabriel Hemery
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The ghost of an English elm that died forty years ago from Dutch elm disease (Ophiostoma novo-ulmi).
Ghost elm, Oxfordshire. DMC-GF2, 7mm (equivalent to 14mm in 35mm ), f11, 1/125th, ISO100, tripod. Post processed Adobe Lightroom.
In an English meadow, this stump is all that remains of a majestic elm Ulms procera that once typified the English landscape until the arrival of Dutch elm disease in the 1960s.
See more of my Elm series
