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Fuji X-Pro1 with 14mm lens, ISO 200, 15 seconds at f/8, Seven5 0.6 ND

hard grad, polariser and Little Stopper Photograph by Graham Merritt

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Welcome

Contributors> David Cleland

> Kimberley Coole

> Wilco Dragt

> Paul Gallagher

> Mark Gilligan

> Francesco Gola

> Chris Herring

> Kersten Howard

> Nick Jenkins

> Sam Jones

> Justin Minns

> John Miskelly

> David Newton

> Craig Roberts

> Antony Spencer

Welcome to the third issue of Xposure, the online magazine from LEE Filters. In this edition, we profile Paul Gallagher, a photographer based in the north-west of England who has been immersed in photography since he first discovered his passion for it at the age of 16. More than 30 years on from this epiphany, his love of the subject shows no sign of waning, and his absolute love of the landscape – be that British, American or northern European – is evident in both his words and, of course, his pictures. Always looking for new ways of expressing himself in images, he has recently started to work with a DSLR that has been converted for infrared photography. The results are subtle and ethereal. Go to page six to find out more.

Many newcomers to photography know of the polarising filter and the effect it can have on their pictures, but are rather daunted by it. Linear or circular? Round or square? It’s not surprising that there can be confusion surrounding its use. Starting on page 16, our guide to this most versatile of filters aims to demystify it and explain why it is so essential to a wide variety of photographic scenarios.

Elsewhere in the magazine, we take a lesson in composition from a landscape photographer who has made a name for himself in England’s spectacular Lake District. Mark Gilligan isn’t afraid to venture out with his camera in all weathers – something that has paid dividends throughout his career, as you can discover on page 20.

For advice on shooting further afield, turn to our Q&A interview with travel photographer Kimberley Coole on page 52, and if you’re looking for hints from the professionals on how to get the best out of your filters, look no further than page 42.

We hope you enjoy this issue. Happy photographing!

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06 16-15 -19A PASSION FOR PICTURES

INTO THE BLUE

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For more than 30 years, Paul Gallagher’s devotion to photography has been steadfast. Here, he talks about moving to digital, and stripping a landscape image down to its component parts

A polariser is essential to any landscape photographer and is the perfect companion to the neutral-density grad. Here’s how to make the most of its polarising properties

25-41GALLERYFeast your eyes on our showcase of fine photography, all shot using LEE Filters

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42-45FILTER KNOW-HOW

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Five professional photographers reveal the techniques they use when shooting with neutral-density grads and filters

46-51ANATOMY OF A SNOW SCENE

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All landscape photographers dream of a snowfall in winter. Here, three of them explain how they made the most of a dusting of the white stuff

20-24COMPOSITION MASTERCLASSThe Lake District provides all the inspiration Mark Gilligan will ever need for his photography, and the compositional opportunities are endless, as he explains

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52-63WHERE IN THE WORLD?It takes skill, talent, bravery and a lot of hard work to become a successful travel photographer. Kimberley Coole explains how it happened for her

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FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS, PAUL GALLAGHER’S DEVOTION TO PHOTOGRAPHY HAS BEEN STEADFAST. HERE, HE TALKS ABOUT MOVING TO DIGITAL, AND STRIPPING A LANDSCAPE IMAGE DOWN TO ITS COMPONENT PARTS

Paul Gallagher’s enthusiasm for photography borders on the obsessive. This much becomes clear within only a few minutes of starting to talk to him. It’s a subject he has been immersed in since he was 16 years old, when he embarked on a graphic design course. One element of the course involved photography and that was it – he was sold. And he harbours the same almost wide-eyed wonderment at the subject now, more than 30 years on.

“I would make pictures in the morning, process them at lunchtime and go into

the darkroom in the afternoon,” Gallagher recalls of his college days. “Photography took my life and turned it upside down. It changed everything.”

As a boy of eight or nine years old, Gallagher would regularly go on mountaineering trips with his father. Liverpool born and bred, making a trip into the countryside was, he says, “amazing”. Once he began to make pictures, his existing love for the outdoors fused with his burgeoning interest in photography, and it’s this combination that continues to drive him today. “It >>

Breaking Ice Arctic Lofoten, Norway

The overnight temperatures had warmed and the ice on this lake was beginning to thaw. The patterns are almost 2km long and ranged from perfect straight lines to smooth curves. Using a long lens, I worked for more than an hour to pick out the simple shapes and interactions of the surface

Ancient oak woodlands Kintyre, Scotland

This area of ancient woodland consists of birch and oak that are stunted by the prevailing winds, which drive off the Kilbrannan Sound below. The shape of this tree with all that grew over it fascinated me, and the subtle backlight made it come alive. Each time I visit these woodlands I ‘see’ different photographs

Nikon D800E with 70-200mm lens at 170mm, ISO 100, 1/60sec at f/16

Nikon D700 IR converted camera with 24-70mm lens at 42mm, ISO 200, 1/60sec at f16

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was a brilliant symbiosis of two things I was incredibly passionate about,” he says.

Then, in his mid-twenties, he did a degree in geology and environmental law, which meant, as he recalls, “I was travelling to wonderful places and able to understand what I was looking at and making photographs of.”

Like so many photographers who become immersed in the landscape, he soon came to shoot on a 5x4in camera using black-and-white film. It comes as no surprise, then, to learn that the great landscape masters of the American West were a huge influence on his early photography. “At the age of 21, I thought every picture I took had to look like a Weston or an Adams,” Gallagher admits. And while this was a useful rite of passage, it isn’t a style he aspires to emulate nowadays. “These days, I like to go about things more gently,” he explains. “This way, I enable >>

Mariposa Grove Yosemite National Park, USA

It is all too easy when in Mariposa Grove to try to make photographs of the giant sequoia trees. I was fascinated by the relationship between the giants themselves and the fragility of the saplings that grow next to them. This sapling almost mimics the shape of the burn scars in the giant sequoia next to it. I waited for the sun to drop in the sky and made my exposure when the last light was capturing the top of the sapling

Hodge Close Lake District, England

This stand of saplings is wonderfully placed, with the largest tree in the centre, but the backdrop is very cluttered by the old slate workings. I was teaching a one-to-one when a thick mist fell and made a veil over the background. Working as quickly as I could, I captured what I had visualised many times before. Two of the trees have sadly now been cut down

Nikon D800E with 24mm PC-E Lens, ISO 100, 1/6sec at f/14

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Nikon D800E with 70-200mm lens at 110mm, ISO 100, 1/8sec at f/16

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of the snow. I break the scene down into those sorts of individual components, and then try to make the selected component stand out in its own right.”

Gallagher’s training with large-format camera systems stood him in good stead for the transition to digital. While he still sometimes shoots on film, digital photography now forms the greater part of his portfolio. It was a move that took time, however. “When I first started with digital, I did have this idea that if something I was shooting was ‘important’, I’d get out the 5x4in camera,” he admits. “But after a while, digital became second nature.”

When in the landscape with a digital camera, he works in exactly the same way he did when shooting film, selecting

myself to notice things that, previously, I would have walked past in pursuit of the grand landscape.”

This sentiment is definitely reflected in his photography. There is a stillness to his images that causes the viewer to pause and be drawn in, to share the moment with him. Even dramatic cloud formations, jagged mountaintops and scenes obviously shot in harsh, sub-zero temperatures are rendered quiet and calm. So how does he go about achieving this?

“You have to stop, think, and be pulled into the landscape,” he says. “But the first thing I look for is the basic elements that bring the scene together. It might be the crest of a mountain, a crack in some rocks that lead out to sea, or a fence poking out

Arctic Lofoten Norway

This photograph was made in the northern reaches of Arctic Lofoten on a morning of warm sun and almost clear skies. I had explored the area for some time but bright days with direct sunlight rarely inspire me. I noticed the small mountain rising from the fjord, and the peninsula, and decided to make a composition of only that, using a long lens. I fitted a Little Stopper, which prolonged the exposure slightly. This brought out some of the reflections in the water and gave balance to photograph

Nikon D800E with 24-70mm lens at 48mm, ISO 100, 115 seconds at f/16, 0.6 ND soft grad, Little Stopper

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the lowest ISO possible, and using only manual settings. “The one thing I did have to do was to start using tilt-shift lenses, purely because I was so used to the movements on a 5x4in camera,” he says.

“However, using digital platforms hasn’t changed me as a photographer. I still walk around the location for half an hour before setting up my camera. I still have the mindset that every picture counts – if I make 20 exposures in one session, that’s a lot. After all, if you spend a week in a place, come back with 5,000 raw files and only have one good one, how will you know how you got it?”

Recently, Gallagher has also started to explore the realm of digital infrared photography. After experimenting with

infrared film as a teenager, he wrote it off, disliking the extreme contrast and halation of the highlights that characterise the results. However, a couple of years ago, he was given the opportunity to try out a digital SLR that had been converted to infrared, and he began to consider its possibilities for a more subtle style of photography.

“When you think about it, infrared light is around us all the time – it’s just that it’s not as powerful in some weather conditions as it is in others, so I started to explore using it on overcast days.”

He describes the results as “fantastic”, and now carries the converted DSLR with him on every shoot, looking for potential images that will result in a >>

Appleby-in-Westmorland Cumbria, England

Appleby-in-Westmorland is largely ignored in favour of its nearest neighbour, the Lake District National Park, but I love its gentle, unassuming landscape, which undulates gracefully and boasts old woodlands and dark rivers. I was standing on a rise in the middle of a field when I noticed the wonderful cloud structures. I knew the infrared converted camera would capture them beautifully. Although this image is simple, it brings out the sense of openness of this wonderful area

Nikon D70 IR converted camera with 18-70mm lens at 18mm, ISO 200, 1/40sec at f/14, 0.6 ND hard grad

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Lochan Dubh Scotland

I was driving from Mallaig to Fort William when I caught sight of this stand of trees filling a small island in the middle of Lochan Dubh. The simple symmetry of the trees and reflections was what appealed to me. It was a short stop and after about 15 minutes I was back on the road

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Nikon D700 IR converted camera with 24-70mm lens at 38mm, ISO 200, 1/60sec at f/14, 0.6 ND hard grad

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subtly dream-like effect, rather than the between-the-eyes hit of traditional infrared subjects. “With a lot of the images, people can’t quite tell if they’re infrared or not,” he reveals. “There’s a mid-tone shift that looks ethereal but isn’t ugly or obvious.”

This is just one example of how Gallagher continues to keep his photography fresh and stimulating, both for himself and for those who view it. Similarly, the process over the past few years of creating two books of his work played an important role in his evolution as a photographer.

“Producing a book forces you to examine your body of work,” he says. “Going through the sequencing of the images

makes you look at the path you have taken, how you approach a subject and what it means to you.”

Interestingly, Gallagher also found it gave him the impetus to move his photography on. “The act of binding these pictures between two covers somehow makes them complete,” he explains. “When you bring together a cohesive body of work, it’s a bit like looking at old photographs of yourself. You can see where you’ve travelled from and to. Once the books were finished, it meant that I had to ask myself the question, ‘Where do I start?’”

Whether he’s talking about locations, gear, teaching or technology, his energy and

Appleby-in-Westmorland Cumbria, England

Near a small river ford in one of the deep ravines of Westmorland, I saw this fresh, spring growth. It was a very quiet location, and the occasional passing car did not hinder my efforts to make a photograph of the reflections. The infrared separated the tones in the leaves and reeds, which were set against the dark undergrowth

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Nikon D70 IR converted camera with 24-70mm lens at 70mm, ISO 200, 1/20sec at f/14

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passion remain the same. And it’s this unerring enthusiasm that makes him such a successful teacher on the workshops he leads with photo tour company Aspect2i. On the trips, he encourages his clients to develop their own aesthetic.

“I always feel sad for photographers who see someone else’s image and then set out to replicate it for themselves,” he says. “I think that’s why Aspect2i is so successful. It’s not just about taking people to lovely places – it’s about teaching them. I find it as exciting as making the pictures myself.”

Gallagher’s plans for 2015 include a trip to the iconic Yosemite National Park, and

working on a project on woodland and trees, particularly those in England’s Lake District. But he’s one of those photographers who’s never off duty.

“It doesn’t matter what environment you’re in,” he says, “you are surrounded by potential images.”

And his methodology is the same, whatever he shoots. “Photographers can make the mistake of looking ‘through’ the viewfinder, at just the centre. But a picture is defined by its corners and edges. If you look at the four corners of the frame, you’ll see that they are what complete the image. If you understand the boundaries, what goes in the middle will make sense.” n

Loch Duartmore Scotland

In mid-September, the reed beds are still quite alive in this part of Scotland; I always photograph Loch Duartmore at this time. This is an image of layers, with the dark base of the reed bed, the pale tones of the tops, then the shadows of the forest in the distance giving way to the diffused light that illuminates the tree tops. I didn’t see the need to include any sky. The biggest challenge is not to fall in, as the reeds are very dense and it is easy to misplace a foot and fill a Wellington boot!

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Nikon D700 IR converted camera with 18-70mm lens at 34mm, ISO 250, 1/60sec at f/14

Visit paulgallagher.co.uk; aspect2i.co.uk

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It’s happened to the best of us, particularly when we are first developing an interest in photography, but we don’t yet fully understand how some of the technicalities work – particularly those around translating exactly what we see in front of us on to the camera’s sensor.

As a result, we might take a picture on a beautiful day, with a blue sky up above that’s punctuated with white, puffy clouds, but the result – a pale, washed-out sky – doesn’t quite live up to what we saw with the naked eye at the time of taking the picture.

The solution to this very common problem lies in the polarising filter, which almost magically can help turn pale skies back to blue, remove reflections from anything from windows to water, and generally reduce harsh and distracting contrast in a scene.

So how does it work? Most natural light is scattered in many different directions, but some light only moves in one direction – for example, the light that shines off a body of water is polarised, with all waves vibrating along the same axis. It is this light that is affected by

the polarising filter. The filter acts like a Venetian blind in microscopic form, blocking out some waves of light and allowing others through.

Linear vs Circular There are two different types of polariser: one is known as linear and the other as circular. These names can seem rather confusing at first, because they do not refer to the shapes of the filters. In fact, it is possible for a circular polariser to be square in shape. What the terms refer to is the way in which each type of filter polarises the light.

A circular polariser will work on any type of camera, however new or old it is and whatever the technology it employs. A linear polariser, however, is only suitable for use with manual cameras. This is because modern DSLRs feature a beam splitter inside them, and a linear polariser affects the way in which this beam splitter works.

While a circular polariser does feature a linear ‘layer’ in its design, through which light is polarised in the usual way, it also has a plate that then rotates the light >>

into the BlueA POLARISER IS ESSENTIAL TO ANY LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHER AND IS THE PERFECT COMPANION TO THE NEUTRAL-DENSITY GRAD. HERE’S HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF ITS POLARISING PROPERTIES

Without polariser With polariser

Above Without a polariser, this scene is harsh and too contrasty

Right With a polariser, the distracting reflections are removed, and the scene is far more pleasing

Nikon D3X with 24-70mm f/2.8 lens at 50mm, ISO 100, 1/8sec at f/14, polariser

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Above Without a filter, the sky is already a reasonably pleasing deep blue

Right However, with the polarising filter attached, the contrast between the white clouds and blue sky is greater. In addition, the white of the lighthouse is cleaner and the red has more depth with the reflections removed

Unpolarised light

Circular polariser

Polarised light

Unpolarised light

Linear polariser

Polarised light

Nikon D3X with 24-70mm f/2.8 lens at 38mm, ISO 100, 1/50sec at f/11, polariserWithout polariser With polariser

A linear polariser has one grid, which, when rotated to the correct plane, will selectively pass or absorb polarised light. The position of the polariser is determined by the photographer, and depends on the effect required for the image

A circular polariser has the same linear polarising grid, followed by a second layer, which spins the now polarised light waves in a circular, corkscrew motion towards the sensor. This corkscrew overcomes the problems associated with the internal optical systems of a modern SLR camera

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Sun

Polarised light

90ºSun

Polarised light

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like a corkscrew. This means the light doesn’t affect the camera’s beam splitter, so the autofocus and lightmetering sensors can operate unaffected by the polariser. The simplest way of looking at it is this: if you rely on autofocus and electronic metering systems, you need a circular polarising filter.

How to use a polariser Two shapes of polariser are available: square, or round. The round filter attaches to the front of the filter holder via an accessory ring. The square version slots into the filter holder in the same way as, for example, an ND grad. However, because a polariser needs to be rotated in order to work, the slot-in type requires the entire filter holder to be rotated. For this reason, most landscape photographers, who frequently combine filters, prefer the round type, as this allows the polariser to be rotated independently of any other filters they may be using.

As previously mentioned, one of the most common reasons for using a polarising filter is to cut through all the scattered, polarised light in the sky, which results in a deeper blue in the final image. The polariser is effective even when cloud is high in the sky and where there may be only a few patches of pale blue breaking through – particularly when you are shooting at a 90-degree angle to the sun. The polarised effect is always stronger at this angle than it is when the camera is either pointed directly towards the sun or at 180 degrees from it.

A certain amount of judiciousness is required when using a polariser. It can be all too tempting to rotate it fully for

maximum effect, but this can sometimes result in a sky that looks overdone and false. The most reliable way of using it is to look through it off the camera, and rotate it to observe the polarising effect as it turns, stop at the point where it achieves the effect you are after, then re-attach it. This results in a more accurate result than trying to judge the effect through the lens or with live view.

Because a polarising filter cuts out more or less light, depending on how much it is rotated, the filter factor varies, too, However, compensation of between 1.5 to two stops is the norm. In order to obtain an accurate light reading, simply attach the polariser once it is at the desired rotation, and meter through the lens as normal. Photographers who use hand-held lightmeters can hold up the polariser and meter through it.

In the field A polariser has a number of uses beyond simply increasing the depth of a blue sky. It is also invaluable when shooting autumn colours. If you are shooting in a forest after a rainfall, for example, a polariser will remove the ‘sheen’ (or specular reflection, to use the technical term) of any water. This helps to emphasise the saturated golds, oranges and yellows that we associate with this time of year. Cutting out the reflections boosts the colours and emphasises the atmosphere of such a scene.

It’s also the filter of choice for cutting through haze, which allows you to see ‘further’ into the image – in other words, it gives a picture depth. As a result, it

Below Try pointing at the sun with your index finger, then stick your thumb out at a 90-degree angle to it. If you then rotate your hand, while still pointing at the sun, your thumb will point towards the region of strongest polarisation

Above On a clear, sunny day, a polariser has its strongest effect on the sky when the camera is pointed at 90 degrees to the sun. Therefore, if the sun is high in the sky, the strongest effect will be towards the horizon. Conversely, if the sun is lower, the band of polarisation will be more obvious

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allows photographers to shoot in conditions that are less than ideal. This effect is particularly appealing when the polariser is combined with a long-exposure filter such as the Big or Little Stopper, and means that the scope of what we normally think of as ‘good’ light (such as early or late in the day) is broadened.

The job of the polariser is to give your image its ‘finishing touch’, be that rendering a long-exposure image more pleasingly ‘matte’, making the windows of a building black and reflection-free, or even making bubbles on the water’s surface more sharp and clear. Best of all, using it won’t have a detrimental effect on any other type of filter that’s used at the same time. There are few shooting scenarios that won’t be improved by its use. n

Wideangle lenses and the Landscape Polariser

When shooting on lenses wider than around 28mm, the likelihood of unevenness across the sky is increased greatly. This might mean that the sky appears dark blue at one end of the image, and much paler at the other, as you approach 90-degree polarisation. If the sky is cloudy, this is less of a problem, but the only way of correcting the problem is in postproduction.

For those photographers who do wish to use ultra-wideangle lenses, vignetting usually becomes an issue at focal lengths of around 21mm and wider. However, the new LEE Landscape Polariser circumvents this problem, and its slimline design is compatible with lenses as wide as 16-17mm. It also features a subtle warm bias that complements most landscape scenes, and negates the need for a warm-up filter. This warm effect can, of course, be removed in postproduction if preferred.

Without polariser

With polariser

Left Without any filter, the scene is pleasant but lacking in depth

Below With the Landscape Polariser attached, the scene is far more vibrant, with deeper blues in the sky, a mirror-like surface to the water, and the boats and fallen leaves glow orange. Most crucially, the image was shot at a focal length of 16mm with no vignetting

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Canon EOS 5D Mark III with EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM lens at 16mm, ISO 100, 13 seconds at f/16, Landscape Polariser

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MasterclassComposition

THE LAKE DISTRICT PROVIDES ALL THE INSPIRATION MARK GILLIGAN WILL EVER NEED FOR HIS PHOTOGRAPHY, AND THE COMPOSITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES ARE ENDLESS, AS HE EXPLAINS.

By Mark Gilligan

With a father who was a photo telegraphist, whose job it was to wire photographs from major sports events through to darkrooms and picture editors, it would have been a surprise if Mark Gilligan hadn’t become a photographer. He grew up on the sidelines of football pitches and at home was surrounded by some of the finest photography of the time (including pictures from England’s 1966 World Cup win).

Although Gilligan has taken pictures almost his whole life, his career took him into moving images, and he ended up directing and producing films on behalf of the Home Office. A number of spinal operations forced him into early retirement in 2007, and although it was then that photography became his full-time occupation, the turning point had actually occurred a few years before that. “Around ten years ago, I was commissioned to produce some images around Wast Water in the Lake District National Park,” he explains. “I booked into a local inn to spend the weekend there, and the man who ran it asked to see the photographs. He bought them all and started to sell them. It spread from there.”

Gilligan has become something of a specialist in photography from the Lake District and, given the vagaries of the weather in that part of the world, his approach has been to work with the conditions, rather than against them, to find his photographs. “I’m quite renowned for

not exclusively taking sunrise and sunset pictures,” he explains. “Picture editors seem to like what I produce because I take a photograph showing a scene as it is, rather than being dependent on the golden hour for light.”

With such dramatic scenery as that of the Lake District, Gilligan finds it’s often assumed that the pictures pretty much present themselves to him. “People say you can’t fail to take good pictures there,” he says. “Yes, you can, and I have the pictures to prove it! Yes, I have hard drives with 40,000-odd pictures on them, but they haven’t happened by chance.”

He describes how, when it comes to composition, he always looks for a variety of different views of the same place. “When I run workshops, I always tell people they need to compose to expose,” he explains. “You cannot take a picture that is technically perfect but where the composition is poor. And it’s no good the other way round, either. Composition is what grabs the viewer right from the outset.”

And as for restrictions such as the rule of thirds? “I’m not bothered by that sort of thing,” he laughs. “If a picture looks right, it’s right.”

Visit wastwaterphotography.co.uk

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Patterns in the mist on Wast Water

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Most people would have said this was a bad day for photography, as Scafell Pike – the reason why a lot of people come to this spot with their cameras – was covered in mist. It was all you could see, and it covered the tops of the fells, so I had to really search out an image.

I went down to the shoreline, as the rocks you can see at the foot of this picture are normally covered in water, and it was there that I saw the ‘V’ shape in the middle that was created by the mountain and its reflection. I think the only time you can compose with an obvious half-and-half split in your composition is when you’re shooting reflections.

There’s a second V shape in the form of the dying bracken on the side of the fell, and this hints at the fact that the picture was taken in autumn. This is a particularly important element of the image, as it would be very flat without it.

The various V shapes create a zigzag pattern that runs throughout the image and takes you from the top to the bottom of the frame, which makes it a little unconventional. Usually, you would expect to be taken into the scene by a lead-in line at the bottom.

Additionally, when I composed, rather than setting up my camera so that it was flat on to the scene, I tilted it down at an angle. This gave emphasis to the foreground rocks and helped to create the

illusion that the fell opposite is closer than it is. In reality, it’s almost half a mile away.

I very rarely do much in the way of processing on my images, and with this one, the only work that was required was some dodging of the foreground rocks in order to balance the composition. >>

Canon EOS 5D Mark II with EF 17-40mm f/4L lens at 20mm, ISO 100, 1/6sec at f/16, 0.3 ND soft grad

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This was the most appalling day. Most people would have just stayed at home because of the horizontal rain. I was on a scouting mission, but the forecast said that the weather would start to clear sometime between 2.30pm and 3pm, so I made my way to the top of Hard Knott. The wind was so strong, I had to fill a bag with rocks and attach it to my tripod in order to weigh it down. Suddenly, the celestial torch started to shine its light on the landscape, and what you see here is the most amazing myriad shapes being illuminated by it.

The patterns were incredible, but it’s the light that creates the composition and gives the image its depth, as it was illuminating the little passages throughout the scene. Without it, the tones are all very similar, and it would have appeared flat.

What I wanted people’s eye to go to was the swirling band on the right hand side in the middle of the frame. I did this by placing the brighter rock – the one your eye would naturally go towards – on the right in such a way that it launches the viewer’s eye into the band. The eye then travels up, around and back down again. >>

Upper Esk from Hard Knott

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Canon EOS 5D Mark II with EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens at 82mm, ISO 100, 1/8sec at f/14, 0.3 ND soft grad

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This is my biggest-selling photograph. I can’t make enough prints of it. Whenever I contact any of my outlets to ask which of my pictures they need fresh stock of, the answer is always, “Sheep!”

The day was as black as the hobs of hell, and I was walking along the valley bottom with the mountain guide David Powell-Thompson. David was 25 or 30 yards ahead of me, when suddenly I told him to stand still on the pain of death.

Heading towards us was this group of Herdwick sheep. I expect they were hungry and thought we were going to feed them. Unusually for me, I had my camera around my neck. I had enough time to pump the ISO up to 800 and set the aperture to f/10. I always say it’s the best 1/200sec I’ve ever spent in my life.

It was the reverse of how I normally compose an image – it’s sheep reportage! But however quickly I had to work, I knew that I had to include some of the sheep’s environment – the rocks in the foreground were important, as was the grim cloud in the background. And the dry-stone walls in the middle distance give the impression of the sheep having funnelled through them. The lone sheep at that point adds to the sense of depth, too.

A short time later the cloud disappeared to reveal a beautiful blue sky, but this wouldn’t have been as successful a picture in good weather.

I have tried cropping the image to the landscape format, but it looks wrong – it only works when you put the sheep in their environment. n

Sheep in the shadow of Lingmell and the Great Gables

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Canon EOS 5D Mark II with EF 17-40mm f/4L lens at 40mm, ISO 800, 1/200sec at f/10, 0.6 ND soft grad

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FEAST YOUR EYES ON OUR SHOWCASE OF FINE PHOTOGRAPHY, ALL SHOT USING LEE FILTERS

Gallerythe

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John Miskelly> Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland

Eilean Donan CastleScotland

Eilean Donan Castle is located where Loch Duich, Loch Long and Loch Alsh meet, in the western Highlands of Scotland. It’s a location I’ve often passed on my way to and from Skye and the Outer Hebrides. One very grey and overcast morning, I stopped to see what

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I could make of this stunning and (understandably) much-photographed castle. Having worked out my composition, which included the reflection of the castle in the lighter part of the loch, and with the lightest area of sky behind the castle to set the building off, I was

ready to go. I still had to wait, hoping that the sun would move from behind the clouds to light up the castle. It took some time, but my patience was eventually rewarded, at which point I then captured five images in order to create a stitched panorama. >>

Nikon D700 with Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 lens, ISO 200, 30 seconds (each exposure) at f/16, 0.9 ND soft grad, Big Stopper, five images stitched in PTGui Pro

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CallanishScotland

The Callanish standing stones are found on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides. This standing stone circle – which consists of 13 stones with a monolith towards the centre – is one of the oldest of its kind anywhere, dating back around 3,000 years. They are made of Lewesian gneiss, a local rock.

When I arrived at the location, it was a sunny but cold morning, and I found a spot where there was separation between all of the stones. This is something I’m very conscious of in my landscape work. However, it started to hail and I had to retreat to the car. Around ten minutes later, when the hail stopped, I went straight back to my

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spot. The ground was white, and the sky behind the stones was dark and atmospheric. This, with the sun behind me lighting the stones themselves, was an ideal combination for the mood I wanted to create. Minutes later, the sky was blue and the hail had melted away, making this image a clear case of grabbing the opportunity when it arose. >>

Nikon D800E with Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 lens, ISO 100, 1/60sec (each exposure) at f/16, 0.9 ND soft grad, six exposures stitched in PTGui Pro

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GlenariffNorthern Ireland

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Glenariff, known as the Queen of the Glens, is in County Antrim in Northern Ireland. It consists of a 2,928-acre forest, and the river running through it has three waterfalls, with lots of wonderful photographic opportunities.

I wanted to capture something a little different, so I made my way along the riverbank away from the main walks to discover this secluded part of the river. Even though it was autumn, bright sunlight was coming directly through the trees, which, when compared to the dark shadows, presented a real challenge for the camera’s dynamic range.

The only way to deal with this was by using both a three-stop and a one-stop ND soft grad, set diagonally along the top left hand corner of the frame.

With some careful cropping of the image and a little shadow recovery in postproduction, I was able to control the highlights and shadows. In addition, I used a three-stop ProGlass ND filter to slow the shutter speed enough to blur the water and give a sense of movement.

Nikon D800E with Nikkor 24mm PC-E lens, ISO 100, 1/2sec at f/11, 0.3 and 0.9 ND soft grads, 0.9 ND ProGlass filter

Visit johnmiskelly.co.uk

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This picture was taken at one of the most spectacular places in Scotland: Neist Point, on the most westerly part of the Isle of Skye. The choice of composition was anything but easy: the visibility was exceptional, and I wanted to place the lighthouse around the upper left third of the frame, while still including the Outer Hebridean islands at the top right.

I waited for the perfect warm sunset light, praying to the gods of weather for some nice clouds. I was lucky,

as the clouds were moving perfectly from the coast to the open water, helping to lead the viewer’s eye to the lighthouse. I chose a long exposure in order to convey the sense of calm and peace I felt at that moment.

To balance the sky and sea, I used a 0.9 ND hard grad. To achieve a shutter speed that would give movement to the clouds, I used the Big Stopper. Postproduction in Adobe Lightroom was very straightforward, requiring only correction of the blue cast of the Big Stopper. >>

Canon EOS 5D Mark III with Zeiss Distagon T* 21mm f/2.8 lens, ISO 200, 240 seconds at f/8, 0.9 ND hard grad, Big StopperFrancesco Gola> Stradella, Italy

Oltremare (Oversea)Isle of Skye, Scotland

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The enchanting village of Vernazza, in the well-known Cinque Terre National Park in Italy, is the setting for this picture. It was taken during a lovely sunset at the beginning of the summer of 2014. I believe it was the first warm day of the season, and a group of us were admiring the beautiful panorama. We were enjoying a glass of wine, when suddenly the sky started to light up. I had been hoping for something like this, so I’d already set up my camera on my tripod. However, capturing the image wasn’t straightforward. My idea had been to take an exposure of two or three minutes in order to properly merge the warm atmosphere of the sunset with the cold tones from the incoming storm, but I knew that such beautiful light wouldn’t last more than a couple of minutes. This meant I only had time for one exposure.

In addition, I had to carefully align my 0.9 ND soft grad in order not to darken the mountain on the right too much. Finally, I added the Little Stopper to extend the exposure time to the desired length. Every time I look at this image, I’m taken back to the amazing atmosphere of that evening. >>

Vento d’Estate (Summer breeze)Vernazza, Liguria, Italy

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Visit francescogola.net

Canon EOS 5D Mark III with Zeiss Distagon T* 21mm f/2.8 lens, ISO 100, 180 seconds at f/8, 0.9 ND soft grad, Little Stopper

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Justin Minns> Sproughton, Suffolk, England

Canon EOS 5D Mark II with Canon 17-40mm f/4L lens at 29mm, ISO 50, 203 seconds at f/11, Big Stopper, 0.9 ND ProGlass filter and 0.6 ND hard grad

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For quite some time, I had been planning to create a long-exposure mono image of these unusually shaped sea defences at Cobbold’s Point in Felixstowe on the Suffolk coast.

My intention was to emphasise their shapes and patterns, particularly the beautiful sweeping curve, by rendering the sea flat and featureless. The tide height was crucial in order to get the effect I wanted, and it actually took four visits to this location before the water level and weather came together at the same time.

After clambering around on the rocks to find an angle that best showed off the sea defences, I set my camera up on a tripod and took a couple of test shots to work out what level of filtration would be needed to smooth the water. It was a fairly bright day, so a combination of ND filters was needed to give me the three-minute-plus exposure you see here.

I’m particularly pleased that the clouds almost echo the curve of the sea defences – a stroke of luck, maybe, but after four attempts I like to think I earned it. >>

SweepingSuffolk, England

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After a very early start, I arrived in front of Fairfield Church on the marshes in Kent well before sunrise. I had been hoping for a calm morning, with the plan being to capture the church in colour sitting on the misty marsh at sunrise, but when I arrived and saw the clouds moving in, I started to visualise the image in monochrome.

Using a low viewpoint to make the most of the reflections, I got as close as I could to the white flowers in the foreground and used a wideangle lens to add more drama to the shot. With a chink of light on the horizon and dark clouds overhead, it was a fairly difficult scene to expose. I selected a 0.6 ND hard grad to hold back the highlights without darkening the church too much, and underexposed slightly to be on the safe side. A few minutes later, I was running for cover as the heavens opened.

I love working in black and white, as it allows me to introduce impact into my images at the processing stage. Using filters at the capture stage to balance the exposure ensures plenty of information is recorded in both the highlights and shadows. >>

Church on the marshKent, England

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Canon EOS 5D Mark II with Canon 17-40mm f/4L lens at 17mm, ISO 100, 1/3sec at f/11, 0.6 ND hard grad

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SellingRiver Orwell, Suffolk, England

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Along the River Orwell at Pin Mill in Suffolk, lie several of these beautifully deteriorating shipwrecks, stuck in a jumbled mess in the muddy shallows. I found myself there one bright, cloudy day, when it was rather too harsh to shoot in colour. However, I like the extra contrast that bright directional light adds to a mono image, so decided to shoot with that in mind. In this case, the light lent form to the boats.

Standing in the shallows, I chose a long exposure. This was not only to simplify the scene and place the attention on the two boats, but also to capture the

streaking clouds, which always give the impression of time passing – something the boats have seen a lot of.

One advantage of a long exposure is that it smooths the water and can reveal reflections that the naked eye does not take in. It’s exciting to see what appears on the back of the camera when the exposure ends. For me, what makes this image work is the added dimension of the blurred cloud reflections in the foreground.

Visit justinminns.co.uk

Canon EOS 5D Mark II with Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens at 45mm, ISO 50, 134 seconds at f/16, 0.6 ND hard grad, Big Stopper

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Kersten Howard> Pembrokeshire, Wales

The stormy light was incredibly dramatic, and was breaking in and out of the clouds over the Cuillins ahead of me, as I drove from Portree to Sligachan on the Isle of Skye. I was desperate to find a parking spot to stop and get my camera out.

Finally, I found a lay-by and rushed to the moorland alongside the road to capture the dramatic scene in

front of me. Fortunately, it wasn’t a fleeting light show, so I had time to find a good spot and set up my gear.

The ground was boggy, so I sank the tripod in as far as it would go. On capturing this image, I knew it would be more suited to black and white, to emphasise the drama in the sky. I used Lightroom to convert from raw, then Silver Efex Pro 2 to convert to black and white. >>

The CuillinsIsle of Skye, Scotland

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Nikon D800 with Nikkor 24-70mm lens at 70mm, ISO 100, 1/40sec at f/11, 0.6 ND hard grad

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Brecon Beacons National ParkWales

I was in the Brecon Beacons, on the A40 between Sennybridge and Trecastle. The day had been cloudy, so I decided to move on to the location I had in mind for a possible sunset, weather permitting. As I drove, the clouds started to thin and showed signs that they were going to part. I am familiar with the area and knew there

was a farmer’s gate up ahead where I would be able to park. I pulled over and set up my camera, put the filters in place, composed the shot and waited for the light. Thankfully, I had read the weather conditions correctly, as shortly afterwards the clouds parted and I was in place to make the most of the side lighting as it illuminated the

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autumn landscape. Fifteen minutes later, it was gone. I used Lightroom to convert from raw, and then a few curves layer adjustments and sharpening in Photoshop. n

Visit khowardphotography.com

Nikon D3X with Nikkor 24-70mm lens, ISO 100, 1/10sec at f/14, 0.6 ND soft grad, polariser

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FIVE PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS REVEAL THE TECHNIQUES THEY USE WHEN SHOOTING WITH NEUTRAL-DENSITY GRADS AND FILTERS

Canon EOS 5D Mark II with 17-40mm lens at 32mm, ISO 50, 13 seconds at f/16, Little Stopper

Filter Know-How>

Lightning is difficult to capture in a photograph, as you never know exactly when a strike will occur, and the chances of you reacting in time to press the shutter button before a strike has disappeared are extremely slim. You can purchase specialist lightning triggers, which will trip the shutter button as soon as the trigger detects a flash, but these are quite expensive.

Another option that I have successfully used on a few occasions now is to attach a neutral-density filter such as the Little Stopper to my lens. By increasing the exposure to several seconds, or even longer, it’s then just a case of setting the camera’s drive to continuous and taking shot after shot, hoping that a bolt of lightning will appear in the

frame during the middle of an exposure. Such was the case with the image below. I had been photographing this straw bale field in the Norfolk countryside for around 40 minutes, with an almost constant rainbow for the whole time, before a thunderstorm then started to develop. I reached for the Little Stopper to increase my exposures to several seconds. I had a few results with less exciting bolts of lightning before being rewarded with this dramatic impact straight in front of me. Chris Herring, Norfolk

BEAT LIGHTNING

Visit theuklandscape.com

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LEARN TO LOVE LIVE VIEW

When you start working with neutral-density grads, it can seem confusing as to how strong a filter you should use to give you a good result. Most cameras these days have live view, and even a live exposure histogram, and you can use this to make the selection of your ND grad much quicker.

With your composition set, start live view. With landscapes, you will usually set the ISO and aperture first, then adjust the shutter speed accordingly. In live view, get your starting point by adjusting the shutter speed until the highlights are not blown. Now, change the shutter speed (you’ll be making it a longer exposure) and count the number of

clicks needed until the shadows are no longer blocked up. If your camera is set to adjust the exposure in 1/3 stops, every three clicks is a whole stop.

For example, if you need to open the shutter speed by six clicks that’s the equivalent of two stops, so you’d need a 0.6 ND grad to compensate for the sky. >> David Newton, Buckinghamshire

At 1/30sec, there is detail in the highlights but the shadows are blocked up and lack detail

At 1/2sec, there is detail in the rocks but the highlights are blown and the colour has gone

With a 0.3 ND soft grad over the foreground, the shutter speed is extended to one second. This, however, means the sky is overexposed. To compensate, a 0.9 ND hard grad is fitted to align with the horizon, and a 0.6 ND soft grad is placed down to the boulder on the left where the waves are crashing

Canon EOS 5D Mark III with 17mm lens, ISO 100, one second at f/16, 0.3 ND soft grad, 0.9 ND hard grad, 0.6 ND soft grad

Visit photopositive.co.uk

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Canon EOS 5D Mark II with 16-35mm lens at 20mm, ISO 400, 1/2sec at f/10, 0.9 ND soft grad, Little Stopper

Having a practical workflow in the field will help you get the best results from your Big or Little Stopper. Before you leave home, ensure that your batteries are fully charged, as long exposures can quickly drain them. A sturdy tripod and remote release are essential.

On location, compose without the filter and manually focus. Switch off image stabilisation on your lens as this can cause vibration during long exposures, resulting in camera shake. Take a meter reading to ascertain the exposure at your chosen aperture and then compare the shutter speed to the table that comes with your

filter. Place the filter in the holder and consider covering the viewfinder with tape, as this can be a source of light leakage. Switch your camera to manual or bulb and dial in your exposure. For bulb exposures use the timer on your DSLR or a stopwatch. Finally, using these filters is not an exact science, so experiment until you get your desired effect. Sam Jones, Isle of Mull

CONSIDER YOUR WORKFLOW

Visit islandscapephotography.co.uk

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GO DARK

Although it’s often best to match your graduated filter to the prevailing conditions and therefore balance the exposure in your image, it’s useful sometimes to use a slighter darker grad than necessary.

By using a three-stop grad instead of a two-stop for instance, you can increase the intensity of a stormy sky. Alternatively, if the sky is particularly clear, this introduces a vignette of sorts to the upper part of the image, helping to draw the eye down to the main landscape. Craig Roberts, Yorkshire

The winter snow brings some amazing photographic opportunities especially during the late evening golden hour as the golden sun reflects off the white ground. The changing light levels can mean getting a correct exposure can be a challenge.

For everyday landscape work I generally have my LEE Seven5 system holder to the front of my camera with a 0.6 ND soft graduated filter. In these conditions I tend to under expose by one stop and then use spotmetering in order to create some interesting and dramatic effects.

By moving the focus point and metering on various aspects of the scene I am able to draw out the detail of the skyline and enhance the clouds. By setting the exposure dial to -1 (and shooting RAW) I can ensure the detail is in the image and I can increase exposure in Lightroom if absolutely necessary. n David Cleland, Northern Ireland

Canon EOS 5D Mark II with 70-200mm lens at 145mm, ISO 100, 1/4sec at f/22, 0.3 and 0.9 ND soft grads

Fuji X-T1 with 10-24mm lens at 22mm, ISO 200, 1/75sec at f/4, Seven5 0.6 ND soft grad

Visit craigrobertsphotography.co.uk

Visit flixelpix.com

SPOTMETER SNOW

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a SNOW SCENEANATOMY of

ALL LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHERS DREAM OF A SNOWFALL IN WINTER. HERE, THREE OF THEM EXPLAIN HOW THEY MADE THE MOST OF A DUSTING OF THE WHITE STUFF

Photographer Nick Jenkins has photographed his home turf of Wales’s Brecon Beacons countless times and in all seasons, for more years than he cares to remember. Yet this image is particularly significant, as it was taken in 2011, during his first trip back to the iconic mountain of Pen y Fan following a major operation only three weeks earlier.

Being only half an hour’s drive from his home, it’s an easy location for Jenkins to get to. “It’s a dead end valley, and is reliable for snow,” he explains. “There’s always some drama there, and the 2,907ft Pen y Fan – the ‘full stop’ in the scene, will always have snow if it’s forecast. There’s easily half a day’s picture-taking to be had here.”

Nikon D600 with 24-70mm lens at 32mm, ISO 250, 1/250sec at f/14, 0.6 ND soft grad, polariser

PEN Y FAN from NEUADD RESERVOIRBrecon Beacons National Park, Wales

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BY NICK JENKINS

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Using his 24-70mm lens, Jenkins settled on a focal length of 32mm for the scene. “Any wider than this would have included too much foreground,” he says. “I wanted to pick up a bit of the hill on the right, in order to frame the composition and give it a ‘border’.”

The snow that runs alongside the shore of the lake is a particularly important feature of the composition, and it was important to Jenkins that he composed with it appearing from the bottom left corner of the frame. “It

gives the image symmetry,” he says. “Your eye follows the spur of snow to the trees and onto the mountain of Pen y Fan. I wanted to make it clear that this movement was the purpose of the photograph.”

What Jenkins particularly likes about this image is that the scene wasn’t completely covered in snow. “If the whole of the foreground and hill on the left had been blanketed, it would still have been an interesting shot, but it would have lacked variety.” >>

It was a windy day, so the clouds were moving quickly across the scene. Jenkins waited around 15 minutes for a formation that would complement the landscape.

Using centreweighted metering, Jenkins took a reading from the snow in the foreground, used AE lock, and reframed the image, bracketing a third either side of the suggested reading.

A 0.6 ND soft grad balances the sky with the foreground. Without the grad, the sky would have been bleached out. A polariser intensifies the contrast between the sky and the white of the clouds.

The line of trees echoes the line of snow by the water’s edge.

The most dynamic element of the composition, the spur of snow that borders the lake leads the eye all the way to Pen y Fan in the distance.

Visit freespiritimages.com

ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER

For many years, photography was just a hobby that complemented Nick Jenkins’ interest in hill walking. He started off taking snaps, but was frustrated with the quality of his images, which, in his words, were “an epic fail in terms of capturing the drama and mood of the hills”.

Vowing to improve, he took lessons in photography. “If it wasn’t for my passion for walking, I wouldn’t have started taking pictures,” he says.

In 2002, he was made redundant from his job as a manager with the local electricity board, at which point he decided to take the plunge into full-time photography. “I’ve never looked back,” he says.

Jenkins now runs photography workshops, and has worked on commissions for the likes of the AA, the Brecon Beacons National Park and CADW, as well as selling his own line of calendars and cards.

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GROESBEEK CANADIAN WAR CEMETERYThe Netherlands

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BY WILCO DRAGTFor many photographers, dramatic light is essential, bringing excitement and depth to an image. Netherlands-based Wilco Dragt, however, prefers the opposite: give him soft, flat conditions and he’s a happy man. This is why, following a snowfall in his home in Arnhem, he headed for this nearby Canadian war cemetery. “It was beautiful,” he recalls. “There was pristine snow everywhere.”

It was obvious to Dragt that the cross should be the main focal point of the composition. He then had to consider

how much of the frame should be taken up by the trees in the background. Using a 24mm tilt-shift lens meant he could ensure the cross was absolutely straight, with no converging verticals. And while it would be possible to correct the verticals in postproduction, that’s something he prefers to avoid.

Knowing he wanted there to be an even wash of light across the image, Dragt took a spotmeter reading and overexposed it by 1.5 stops, to make sure the white snow

Nikon D800E with Nikon 24mm tilt-shift lens, ISO 100, 1/25sec at f/11, 0.3 ND soft grad

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didn’t appear as grey. The snow was brighter than the sky, and his aim was for them both to appear as the same tone in the final image. In order to achieve this, he used a neutral-density grad upside down in the holder. “This is something I often do,” he explains.

Despite tweaking the composition several times, this one – the first – was the most pleasing of the set. “It often happens that way,” Dragt says. “I work a lot on intuition, and always look for balance in my compositions. There is definitely balance in this image.”

The graduated grey effect was added in postproduction, leaving a light area behind the cross, so that it stands out.

Dragt composed carefully so that the base of this tree was separated from the steps. If the steps had covered this area, the composition would not have worked.

A one-stop ND soft grad was placed upside down in the holder, with the transition area aligned approximately with the hedge in the background. Dragt used live view to determine the correct position of the grad.

The plain white background emphasises the thin, delicate structure of the trees.

The strips of snow on the trees and cross are echoed on the steps. The dark detail where the stone shows through is important: without it, the image would lack depth.

The image was made around midday. With such an even wash of light, it’s possible to shoot at almost any time of day.

ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER

Netherlands-based Wilco Dragt only started taking pictures in 2007 and, in 2014, he left his job in business administration. A number of consultancy jobs tided him over, but he now devotes himself to photography fulltime. “It was a big jump to make,” he admits, “but I had to do it.”

At first, he pursued landscape and nature photography, and had some success in a number of international competitions, which kept him motivated. But four years ago, he decided to take a different route and explore a more fine art approach. This is defined for him as being “much more personal”. He continues, “We live in a world of hustle, taking

little time to stop and look around us. Photography allows me to slow down and notice things that might otherwise be overlooked.”

Dragt always looks for compositions where he can isolate the main element and strip everything else down to the bare minimum. He finds his subjects on the shoreline of his native Holland, as well as on the coasts of Normandy and – much more challenging – in the city of Paris. “I do quite a lot of preparation, but don’t have any set images in mind,” he explains. “Once I know where I want to go, I let my imagination run to see what happens.” >>

Visit wilcodragt.nl

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LOFOTEN STORMNorway

>BY ANTONY SPENCERDorset-based Antony Spencer has been fortunate enough to visit Norway’s Lofoten Islands on some 30 occasions, and he has yet to tire of the archipelago’s exceptionally dramatic landscape.

When he took this picture, he was leading a workshop with fellow photographer David Ward. The previous two days had been very stormy, but on this day they started to see some breaks in the weather appearing.

Knowing the region as they do, they were able to head for an area where they were hopeful the storms would begin

to clear. “We arrived at the perfect moment, just as the sun broke through the clouds to spotlight the landscape,” Spencer recalls.

He describes these conditions as providing “the kind of light you hope for, but which rarely comes off. Clearing storms often produce the most dramatic light, but trying to establish the right place and time can be challenging.”

Spencer’s experience as a storm-chaser in the US means he has learned to respond quickly to rapidly changing conditions. For him, it’s simple. “You have to make

Phase One IQ180 with 35mm lens, ISO 35, 0.6sec at f/16, 0.6 ND soft grad, polariser

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images when you get the opportunity to do so – often in environments that aren’t ideal.”

The foreground was something of a compromise for Spencer, and he would have preferred it to be less cluttered, but there were no other options. “I could have done with another six inches of snow,” he laughs.

However, any dissatisfaction he may have with the foreground is tempered by the reflected gold in the distant clouds. “Although we knew this was the location we wanted to be in, we had no idea we would get the sweeping arc with sidelighting from the corner,” he explains. “Everything came together as we had visualised.” A rare occurrence indeed.

This light adds drama to the image and gives the eye somewhere to go. Spencer says it’s like a small tornado touching down on the horizon.

The sunlight illuminating the left-hand side of the frame is key. Without it, the image would be monochrome.

A polariser cut out nearly all the reflections in the fjord. The resulting inky-black water contrasts dramatically with the white of the snow.

Spencer used a two-stop ND soft grad across the sky in order to bring down the tone of the cloud and increase the contrast. A hard grad would have left too obvious a line through the snow.

Spencer admits that although he finds the foreground a little uninspiring, it still complements the rest of the composition, and it was the simplest foreground he could find within the time he had.

ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER

Antony Spencer was a self-employed stonemason when he bought his first camera, and at the time he had no photographic aspirations beyond taking pictures of his first child. However, he soon fell in love with landscape photography, which he was able to schedule around his stonemasonry, getting up for the sunrise, and finishing work in time to catch the light at the end of the day.

In 2007, he took a trip to photograph the Northern Lights, and returned with the desire to go again as quickly as possible. In order to help fund the return visit, he put an image on Flickr and offered to lead a tour there. It sold out in five minutes. This led to

him setting up a business as a photography tour leader, and things snowballed from there.

In 2010, Spencer won the coveted Landscape Photographer of the Year award, and the ensuing publicity gave his business a huge boost. “I entered hoping to get a picture in the book,” he explains. “Competitions are such a lottery, but I put the right image in front of the right judges on the right day.”

Of leading photography tours, he says, “I love to spend time with other photographers – most of whom won’t even become professional. It’s constantly inspiring.” n

Visit antonyspencer.com

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Sometimes with portraiture, the background just doesn’t work. It might be ugly, or too bright or busy. This is when it helps to be observant. I noticed this Black Dzao lady in Vietnam had a black umbrella in her basket, and after a few minutes of trying to explain what I wanted, she got the idea and fixed the background issue for me

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LEE Filters Which came first, travel or photography?Kimberley Coole In terms of falling in love, it was travel. I took photographs from an early age, but there was a gap of 15 years where I didn’t even touch a camera. My husband and I caught the travelling bug while we were on our honeymoon, so once we got back to the UK we made the decision to change our lives completely. At the time, I was a secretary and my husband worked in a design firm, and quitting was easy. Next came selling our home. The house was lovely, but northern England wasn’t really where we saw ourselves at that point, and so this went next. The money we made from its sale funded a few years of backpacker-style travel. No frills, no luxuries, just endless Asian adventures with only ourselves for company. We’re often asked how we had the nerve to do it and as yet we have no real answer. It didn’t seem like a big deal, in all honesty. We were young(ish) and didn’t have children, so why wouldn’t we?

LFWhen did you know that photography was what you wanted to do for a living?KCAfter a year or so of travelling, a number of people told me how much they enjoyed looking through my >>

IT TAKES SKILL, TALENT, BRAVERY AND A LOT OF HARD WORK TO BECOME A SUCCESSFUL TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER. KIMBERLEY COOLE EXPLAINS HOW IT HAPPENED FOR HER

Canon EOS 5D Mark II with EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens at 80mm, ISO 640, 1/500sec at f/6.3

?Wherein the

world

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Canon EOS 5D Mark II with EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens at 24mm, ISO 500, 1/40sec at f/6.3

photographs, and one even said I should try doing it for a living. It was then that I thought, wow, I should try, what a great job that would be. Everything started from that one thought.

LF How did you go about making a career out of it?KCContacting Lonely Planet Images was my very first step into the world of professional travel photography. It was really exciting to be offered a contract and that gave me the courage to put all my eggs in this one basket. I decided to build up my library of images as quickly as possible so that I would become one of their most visible photographers, and in the end I was in the top 20 contributors,

with roughly 10,000 images available for sale and licence. A few years later, the library was sold to Getty Images and this was the real turning point for me, as for the first time in about five years I had a decent regular income.

LFWhat were the most important things you learned in those early days?KCTo understand that in some jobs you have no control whatsoever. It was this that really put me off commissioned assignments. My career is based around stock photography, which gives me the freedom to do what I want, where I want, when I want. I do plan to start taking on assignments again next year but for now I’ll stick with stock. Being a stock

I found it quite difficult to get this image, as no tripods were allowed in this particular temple in Hong Kong. Tripods can often cause issues, so you have to be prepared to go without. Look for anything flat you can rest your camera on, and keep your fingers crossed…

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photographer is no different to working on assignments in terms of the work you produce, though. You are showing people the very best of what a particular place has to offer, be that the culture, the landscape, the architecture or the food. I always try to cover as many areas as possible when out on a shoot because you never know what people will buy, so if you have a little of everything, hopefully they will choose your work. I also soon learned that for any full-time travel photographer, there is no such thing as an average year. It varies wildly, and this can put off many aspiring photographers – you simply never know what you’ll be doing next week.

LFTo what extent do you view a place differently when you have no choice but to come back with pictures?KCFor me, travel and photography are so entwined that I don’t do one without the other. I could never travel somewhere and not take photographs, and I honestly never take photographs unless I’m travelling. So in terms of how I see the world, that never changes. Every place at any given time of day is a set of images – my eyes never stop framing.

LFHow much planning do you do in advance?KCLots! I love planning, so much so, that I have trips planned that I have no intention of going on for years. Research is a travel photographer’s best friend, and Google Street View is probably the handiest research tool of them all. What else allows you to literally walk down streets looking for angles or shots? This was really invaluable when researching Venice. It’s such an exhausting maze of streets and bridges on foot, but on your computer it’s not so bad. You can find a lot of angles this way and save yourself precious time on location. As a travel photographer, you don’t always have a great deal of time in some places. Knowing what to expect and what you want to shoot gives you

more time for photography, and less time wasted scratching your head. Of course, we can’t control everything – there’s a balance. Basically, be prepared, but always be ready to change things around.

LFDo you have a ‘checklist’ of the sort of pictures you want to take? KCEvery travel photographer I know has a checklist, albeit a mental one. We need >>

Canon EOS 5D Mark II with EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM lens at 25mm, ISO 320, 12 seconds at f/10

Photographs of Singapore always sell well. It is one of those cities that is always on a must-visit list, so keeping an updated library of this fast-changing city is essential. Each time I go, I think it’ll be the last time for a while, yet every year I find myself back there, wandering the streets at midnight, unable to pack my camera away and go to bed.

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to cover locations as thoroughly as possible, so knowing in advance what you can expect to be taking keeps you focused. It can also keep you driven, as there is always that temptation to “just try and get those shots, too” before heading to your guesthouse for the night.

LFWhat sort of challenges have you encountered?KCSo many I could fill this entire magazine... Only kidding, but as an overall challenge, time plays a major role, usually because there is never enough. There have been many nights where I have decided to just keep shooting and sleep another time. I’d rather have the shots than sleep – I can do that when I get home. My most memorable all-nighter was in Singapore. Come to think of it, lots of them were in Singapore… But this particular night was extremely cloudy, which meant I could shoot balanced long exposures all through the night – that was enough for me. There are countless shots to be had in that city, and even more coffee shops. It’s almost as if Singapore has set up perfectly spaced caffeine dispensers to help out night-time photographers!

LFThe relationship between travel and photography is an interesting one. Can you chart how it has enriched you both as a person and as a photographer?KCI don’t believe travelling makes anyone a better photographer – you either have that skill or you don’t. I do believe travelling can enrich a person’s life, though. Experiencing so many different cultures and dealing with both tragedy and triumph in the same day is bound to have an >>

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Sometimes everything just works out, and when it does, make sure you have your camera ready! Just before I took this shot, a swarm of insects was attacking us and the rain was torrential. Then all of a sudden the bugs disappeared and the sun came out, as did my camera

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equipment that simply sits in a bag. Travel photographers must travel light. Either that, or have very strong backs…

LFHow do you engage with the people who you photograph?KCThis is a topic I have discussed in nearly every interview and presentation I’ve done. It seems that some people forget they are taking photographs of other human beings, not animals at a zoo. I don’t own a zoom lens, and even if I did, I would always ask permission to take a portrait. It’s okay if you are shooting a street scene and a few people happen to be in the shot, but if you are focusing on one person, you should have the decency to go and ask permission first. If the person doesn’t speak English, using hand gestures or asking someone to translate always works. It’s worth noting that if someone says no to having their photograph taken, then that should be accepted graciously. But rather than just walking off, try sitting with them and having a chat. I’ve done this on more than one occasion, and in the end the person has offered to pose for me, not because I asked, but because they then wanted to. >>

effect on you – hopefully a positive one. I find I can handle stressful situations much better now. What would once have sent me into panic mode now doesn’t, which helps me to deal with problems much more effectively (and calmly!).

LFWhat equipment do you use?KCMy gear has remained practically the same throughout my travel photography career, with only small additions and upgrades over the years. I like to keep to the minimum for a number of reasons and have never felt like I needed anything extra, so I use a Canon EOS 5D Mark II, a 24-105mm lens, a 16-35mm lens, a number of LEE filters and my trusty Manfrotto tripod. And that’s it.

LFHow do you go about packing for a trip?KCAs I mentioned above, I always travel light. For shorter trips, my camera bag doubles as both my suitcase and my actual camera bag – it gets split half and half. I have never needed much in the way of camera gear and I really don’t see the point in carrying around tonnes of excess

Classic travel shots, such as this one of Petra in Jordan, always sell well as stock images. The difficulty is getting the clients to buy yours over another photographer’s. I always spend a lot of time making sure the shot is absolutely perfect before taking it. This way, I know it is likely to beat the competition

This shot is from a series in Sri Lanka that has won me a couple of awards now. The weather was awful and showed no sign that it would improve, so I did as any travel photographer would, and went out and took pictures anyway! I used a Big Stopper for the whole series

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LFWhat sort of light is best for shooting portraits?KCI don’t own a flash or any lighting equipment, so natural light is the only source I use. You can always tell when a shot has been lit artificially and from what I have seen, particularly in Asia, people tend not to like having lots of lights shining down on them, and this will come across in the final images.

LFHow do you choose what subject you’re going to tackle on any given day?KCAs a travel photographer, you need to be able to shoot everything and anything at any given point, so making the switch between subjects isn’t a problem, in fact, it’s usually a cause for celebration, as it means you’ll be getting a bigger

collection for that location. In terms of choosing your subject for the day, I just look through my research. I usually plan my days around the weather. For example, I’ll have a list of shots to get if the skies are stormy, or shots to get if it’s a perfect blue sky – then I simply work my way down the list until there are no pictures left. My research is quite thorough, and my plans don’t normally change all that much. Sure I’ll stay a day or two longer if I need to, but that’s just being flexible, which is an essential trait for any travel photographer. I can spend weeks taking photographs of tribal people and one day shooting in a city, but if it’s a city I love, I’ll spend a week there. Many places require more than one visit, and there are no set rules about time. Everything is dependent on how you feel when you arrive, what your research has shown and, in some cases, simply what the weather forecast throws at you.

I’m often asked, “Are there not shots of that already?” My answer is always the same – yes. What you have to try to do, as with this image of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, is capture the place from a different angle or under different conditions. If all else fails, simply ensure the quality of your image is better than what is currently on the market

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LFYou’ve enjoyed success in competitions - what advice would you give to photographers entering competitions such as Travel Photographer of the Year?KCWhen it comes to competitions, my only advice would be to make sure your image is something special before entering it. If nothing stands out to you, then wait for the next year. There’s no point in wasting money on entering these things when you have no chance of winning.

LFIs there one place you know you’ll return to again and again?KCBangkok, for no other reason than it feels like home nowadays, plus we have some

This reclining Buddha is located in my favourite temple in Sri Lanka. Nobody has ever heard of it and the images have never sold, but each time I visit this country I go back, not because I know it’ll make me money, but because I enjoy shooting there. You should always make time for taking images you truly want to

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very good friends based there. We’re there so often we really should consider buying an apartment. It has amazing temples, great food, constantly changing chaos and endless shoot opportunities – what’s not to love?

LFAnd which new places do you hope to travel to in the future?KCMy husband and I have been in and out of Asia for close to a decade now and the time has come to experience Europe: ancient cities, perfect landscapes, the Northern Lights, autumn… Many people ask me why I haven’t shot more of the beautiful countries closer to home, and the answer is simple: I fell in love with Asia not because of how far away it is >>

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Canon EOS 5D Mark II with EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens at 105mm, ISO 100, 120 seconds at f/14, Big Stopper

or because it is as easy to get to as the next place, but because it was different. I spent the first 20 years of my life around similar people in similar places. Asia was a complete shock, and I loved that. The funny thing is, Asia is now more like home than the UK. Spending time in Europe is so different from my normal routine that ‘home’ has become exciting once again. Who knows how long that will last, though, and where my next stop will be.

LFHow much do you look forward to returning home? KCIt really depends on the day. Sometimes I can’t wait to get home and other times

I wonder why I am. Prior to 2014, we had no base in the UK, and so when we did come back we would stay with family and friends. This is great for a while, but eventually everyone needs their own space, and that is usually the point at which we’d leave again. Now that we have bought a house, it’s different, and we’re free to come and go as we please.

LFWhat countries have surprised you most? KCI am not often surprised, in all honesty. My research is very thorough! n

I love long exposures, and I love sunsets, so I combined the two with this shot of the Sydney Opera House. This is another one of my images that was shortlisted in the Travel Photographer of the Year awards. It’s an unusual shot of such a famous location, but one that works just as well in my opinion

The classic stock shot of a longtail boat in Thailand is a big seller. A good travel image should make the viewer wish they were there – and who wouldn’t want to be in this spot? Visit coolephotography.co.uk

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