Wedding: Lee & Wendy

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of photographing Lee & Wendy's Wedding. It was overcast and rather dark the whole day but after the forcast had said heavy rain all day, we were very lucky that it didn't hit us.

The church was lovely and set out on two floors (the 2nd floor being a balcony floor) so there was plenty of space to move around although I couldn't get in a central position to the bride and groom during the ceremony and there wasn't much time to move.

The only dificulty during the day was that the lighting. It was very low, even in the church and I had to compensate this by using a higher iso that I would have liked.

Below are a couple of decorative shots from the reception. Bride & Groom photographs will follow shortly.

Hardraw Force, Yorkshire

Yet again, a very different waterfall and slightly bizarre too!

Hardraw (Hardrow) Force is on private property owned by a pub.
You have to pay £2 entry to get access to it and it is very very muddy but well worth it.

The fall was huge! I knew it was big, but I wasn't expecting quite that big - we looked like ants next to it!
But because it was so big, the amount of noise and spray made it impossible to get very close and the over hanging trees were too distracting on the full length photographs that I took. On top of this, it was absolutely chucking it down so keeping the lens dry was a mission and a half!

Hardraw is claimed to be England's tallest waterfall above ground boasting a 100 ft unbroken fall. Another scene from 'Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves' was also filmed here.

This is my favourite photo from Hardraw, so simple yet so different from all of the others that I have taken so far.

West Burton Falls

I loved this location - it was perfect for photographers!

You can park right next to it so you don't have to carry anything far, its scenic and fairly quiet.
The river that it flows into is also very shallow and clear so you can see where you are going and there are plenty of rocks to climb on so you can move about.
Basically, you can get to anywhere you want - even behind it!

This was the best waterfall for photography that I went to on Sunday without a doubt.

West Burton village itself is also very pretty - it looks very much like it should be in the Cotswold's from the style of the buildings so I felt quite at home there!

Aysgarth Falls, Yorkshire

Aysgarth Falls, Yorkshire, originally uploaded by Elliye.

Aysgarth Falls was one of the film locations for 'Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves'.
The falls are comprised of three parts, lower (featured here), middle and upper falls.

Although Aysgarth Falls isn't very picturesque at this time of the year, its brute force and power are staggering and if you're up for a bit of a climb, you can get right down to the lower falls. Thankfully I got there before it rained so it wasn't too slippy, just not very easy with the equipment!
It was also quite difficult to get a clear photograph as there were so many visitors so it took a bit longer than I had expected!

Cotter Force, Yorkshire

Cotter Force, Yorkshire
Originally uploaded by Elliye

Just south of Cotter Rigg in Wensleyday is Cotter Force.

Unfortunately the 'light rain' that I was hoping for was more like heavy rain, rather windy and the light was starting to fail.
The footpath also lead to one very exposed spot and because it was so wet I didn't want to climb about on slippery ground too much with my camera.

I am pleased with the final couple of images of this waterfall that I have chosen but I would have liked more time here and slightly nicer conditions so I was very limited for composition.

Landscapes: The Next Locations

I am planning to visit the next set of locations tomorrow (Sunday). The forecast is cloudy which is perfect, in fact I'm hoping for light showers too!

The plan is to travel up to Wensleydale and visit some more waterfalls. There are four rather large and impressive ones (listed below) that I particularly want to photograph and if it rains, it will only make them flow more fiercely.

• West Burton Falls
• Aysgarth Falls
• Hardraw Force
• Cotter Force

On the way back to Leeds we will pass through Hawes and Grassington, both have some beautiful scenery so I'm hoping that I will be able to get some good shots of the Moors and Valleys if there is still enough light.

Collections: Change of plans...

Ok, so it has become pretty obvious that this project seems to have gone from landscape photography to waterfall photography!

This is mainly because there are so many waterfalls around and they are so much easier and quicker to find that the perfect location(s) for landscape photography, especially given the time constraints. The other reason is that after seeing the first few, I was amazed at how powerful they were. Each one was very different so there would be plenty of variation and I would be able to explore the Dales a bit more so that I can focus on landscapes for a later project.

This time of year is also quite difficult for landscapes as the weather is pretty miserable and I have a million and one things to do so I try to manage my time as best as I can, but this also means its not as easy to drop everything and head for the hills when we have a nice day.
Waterfalls often look better on a rainy and dull day so the weather shouldn't hold me back too much.

Stainforth Force, Stainforth near Settle

This was the third and last waterfall that we visited yesterday and probably the simplistic one of the three, but amazing none the less. It was also the smallest in height.

Stainforth is just north of Settle and northwest of Malham.
The power and current of the water flowing down this fall was immense and the waterfall is build like a series of steps.

Once again, we arrived at this location and no sooner had we set up our cameras, it started to rain. This was more of a problem at Stainforth Force as it was very open to the side of the fall that you have to access it from and the ground quickly became very slippery.
It was hard enough anyway because of the angle that the river ran to get a good composition of the full waterfall.

On the plus side, I knew there were Salmon in this river, but I didn't realise that it was the time of year that they make their journey upstream. Despite there only being a few Salmon that day, I must have seen about 9 or 10 attempts to make it up the waterfall in about 45 minutes. Its quite amazing to see them jump up suck a powerful waterfall.

Unfortunately, I didn't manage to photograph any as they were too ad hock in jumps and with the light failing, there just wasn't time.

Janet's Foss, Malham

Janet's Foss was the most picturesque of the three waterfalls. It is surrounded by woodland and falls into a small pool which flows off through the valley.

Although I am pleased with the photographs that I took, they really don't do the location any justice and I don't think that any photograph would! It is one of those places that you really need to visit to see its true beauty.

The weather really let us down at this location. Because it is surrounded by woodland, it was fairly dark but it would have looked amazing with the sun beaming through the trees. But as cold as it was, the pool still looked very inviting. The water was so clear and as the waterfall hit the pool below, it has a bluish tint like a swimming pool.

Without a doubt, I will be going back here in the summer to take more photographs!

About 200 yards down the river from Janet's Foss, there are 3 tree trunks, densely embedded with coins!

...and my parents always said that money doesn't grow on trees!!!!!

It is said that this is where the Tooth Fairy gets the money to leave under children's pillows at night when they collect their fallen teeth.

Gordale Scar, Malham

This was probably the most spectacular waterfall of the three that we visited yesterday.

The river has calved a path through the rock face of a small cliff in the hills of Malhamdale and then runs down the valley to Janet's Foss.

The weather forecast had been dry with sunny spells but the second that we got to the waterfall and I had unzipped my camera bag it started to rain! Typical British weather! Thankfully it wasn't too heavy and we were partly sheltered by the cliffs so it didn't cause too much of a problem. But this also meant that the sky had clouded over which I didn't mind as it meant that the light was more suitable for photographing water on long exposures.

The only downfall of Gordale Scar, is that because it falls through the cliffs, you can only photograph it from certain locations and while it was raining and I have a huge bag full of equipment, I didn't think it would be the best idea to climb up the rock face.

I am however, very happy with the photographs that I have from Gordale. The exposures have come out much better than I had anticipated as I haven't really spent much time before taking long exposures of water. It would have been better had it not rained and I didn't have to keep protecting my camera as I would have liked to have taken more from different angles across the rock face.

Landscapes: The First Locations

Today I started the landscape photography for my Collections project.

The weather wasn't ideal for wandering too much as it kept raining on and off, although it only seemed to start the second that I set my camera up!

The locations that we potographed were;

• Gordale Scar, Malham
• Janet's Foss, Malham
• Stainforth Force, Stainforth near Settle

We had also planned to visit Catrigg Force and Scaleber Force but unfortunately we didn't have enough time.

I will post a preview of the images tomorrow.

Joe Cornish: Landscape Photographer

Having worked as an Assistant Buyer for 2 years at The National Trust, I am very familiar with the work of Joe Cornish. Many of the greeting's cards sold and branded National Trust cards use his work as well as their photographic library.

Joe's images are so tranquil and the colours are always so beautifully bright yet calming. Joe often photographs seascapes at dawn or dusk using long exposures and many of which are taken around North Yorkshire where he lives.

I am very inspired by Joe's work and I would love to take some coastal dawn photographs. I think I will have to make a point of that in the new year!

If you like land and seascape photography, you have to see Joe's work!
Please click the link to view his website: Joe Cornish

Landscape Locations

Okay, so after all of my investigating, I now have a rather long list of locations for Landscape Photography.

My plan is to get to get to several locations each day due to time restrictions and a lot of the locations are clumpped together which will help. Obviously some will take longer to get to and find but I can usually find just about anything if I put my mind to it!

I know I won't have time to cover all of these but I thought it may be useful to point them out incase anyone else wants to know what features are about.

• Tong Beck (Waterfall), Sykes Wood, Tong Valley
• Beckfoot Bridge & Ford, Bingley
• Hebden Water, Hardcastle Crags
• Gibson Mill, Hardcastle Crags
• Waterfall, The Valley of desolation at Bolton Abbey
• The Cow & Calf Rocks, Ilkley Moor
• Conistone
• Janet's Foss & Goredale Scar
• Malhamdale
• Scaleber Force (Waterfall)
• Catrigg Foss & Stainforth Force, Settle
• Clapham beck (Waterfall)
• Beezley Falls, Thornton Force, Pecca Falls & Snow Falls, Ingleton
• Ribblehead Viaduct
• Cotter Force & Hardraw Force
• West Burton Falls & Aysgarth Falls
• Castle Howard
• Maiden Castle
• Reeth
• Cowside Beck
• Flamborough Head
• Hewenden Viaduct
• Cray, Upper Wharfdale
• Spurn Point
• Whitby
• Saltwick Bay, Black Nab & Saltwick Nab
• Stanage edge

The locations i visit will be dependant upon time and weather restirctions aswell so this list will shorten quite dramatically before the end of the project.

Local Societies & Orgs.

I would definatley recommend any photography enthusiast in the Leeds area to sign up to Flickr and participate in the Leeds flickr group. They are the most active group that I have seen on there, with monthly meets and are an excellent source of information and help.

Flickr

The following Societies/Orgs may also be of interest.
I will update this list as I come across more!

Leeds Photographic Society

Photo Network North

Blogs of Interest

Just thought I would mention a few of the photography blogs that I have been reading as I'm sure they may be of interest to others!

Strobist

Off-camera flash & lighting techniques with FAQs and lots of useful information.

Doug Chinnery
A contemporary photographer based in Nottinghamshire.
Doug's blog discusses everything from techniques to equipment.

Andy Smith
Editorial & Commercial Photographer based in the North of England.
Andy aims his blog at students and anyone else looking to work in the Photograhic industry.

Mcfade's Photo Blog
Described as 'A photographer and keyboard player's ramblings about photography and music, life and the world in general'. Also based in the North of England.
Good for technique information and was featured in Digital SLR User Magazine earlier this year.

Waterfalls

Having been searching for photography locations, I think I have found a solution if the weather is awful.

Waterfalls.

It won't matter if it's raining, in fact it would probably be better if it was as the flow would be much stronger! I would like to include a few waterfalls in this project anyway as there are some spectacular falls in the Dales, but it does make sense as a backup plan should the weather turn.

I have a slight fascination with waterfalls (who doesn't?!) and I'm not quite sure why. I don't see them very often and they are beautiful features of the landscape.



The image above was taken at Harewood House just a few weeks ago. I would have liked to have used a longer exposure to soften the water flow but I didnt have my tripod with me at the time.

Collections: Maps

I couldn't resist! I love OS maps, they are amazing and now I have them all for the UK on my laptop! Now this is just asking for trouble...



Anyway, the flags shown on the road map above are all locations that I have pinpointed as possibilities for Landscape Photography for this brief.

How did I find them? Well...

I spent a good few hours going through the Yorkshire Group's pool on Flickr and seeing where other people have been and taken photographs. So I marked down the locations that I particularly liked.

I have also marked Saltwick Bay and Black Nab (near Whitby) as this is a beautiful location for coastal photography. And having worked for the National Trust, the amount of photographic greetings cards that came through the Buying office of this area has given me a pretty good idea of the potential for this location.

My neighbour is also a very good source of information as she has always lived here. She suggested a few places including Asygarth Falls where they filmed part of Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves.
This in turn got me thinking about film locations and Pride & Prejudice particularly sprang to mind. I really like the shot of Lizzie Bennett stood at the top of a rocky peak overlooking the valley...Stanage Edge, East of Sheffield.

I also visited the Bronte Parsonage Museum recently and I found the location of Ponden Kirk which is thought to have been 'Penistone Crags' in Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights as well as other locations that are thought to have inspired the novels written by the sisters.

So, I really don't think I will be at a loss for locations or inspiration for landscape photography!

Collections: Land & Seascapes

I love landscape and coastal photography but since moving to Leeds, that are of interest has been severely neglected as I don't find urban landscapes very inspiring. Although I am close to the Dales, it is still quite a trek to get there and the weather and timing is essential for Photography.

So, to give me more motivation to get back to the wilderness, I am thinking of producing a collection of Landscape photography for my latest project.

I have been looking at Landscape Photographers in Yorkshire and the North and this has really fuelled my enthusiasm and inspiration.

Please see the following Photographer sites for examples;

• Lee Frost
• John Potter
• Dave Lawrence
• Yorkshire Dales Photography

Collections: Artist's Books

For our latest project, we have been asked to preferably make a book...hmmm...I would like to do a photo book, but photographs are so less impressive in a book so I may avoid the book format if I can.

I have been looking for interesting books and I can't really find any, well, I can't find any to my taste! I'm not really into all the 'arty-farty' books, I like factual and photography books as apposed to Artist Books.

What is an Artist's Book? Click here: Wikipedia Artist's Book

There are some really interesting designs about, but they just aren't really 'up my street' and I'm not really into that kind of design area to make something like this.

Here are a few links of some of the designs that I find more interesting. I'm sorry about the lack of images in this post, but I don't have permission to use the photographs...

• Spirit Vessel I just think this looks cool but I just don't have the patience to do things like this and I would only squash it after!
• Judy Barrass (I particularly like 'Intimate Landscape' and 'Thursday Morning'
• Jill Lanza - Her binding is different and reminds me of an Oriental dragon.

Collectors, Collections & Collecting Brief

Well I must admit, this brief threw me off a little and from how it was introduced, it didn't capture much of my enthusiasm or imagination.

Having set myself up to work as a freelance photographer, I wanted to make as many of my briefs as possible this year broaden and assist me with experience, portfolio works or business progression and this brief initially just didn't seem to enable me to do so. But, having worked through the nitty gritty or so to speak this brief is actually very loosely defined.

The one thing that I am very pleased about, is that we don't have to provide a physical working notebook for each project as we did last year. I really thought that it was a waste of time, paper and ink doing these as I don't find them helpful with my way of working and I would much rather just use my blog and electronic files on a disc. Of course, there are always bits and pieces of paper, contact sheets and test prints, but I don't tend to keep a working journal to show my thoughts.

I have a few ideas in my head of what I want or could possibly do for this project...now I just need to decide on one!