It’s no secret that I’ve spent time with a professional photographer during the past few months, and I have been to two workshops and had two 121’s. It’s also no secret that the professional photographer is Chris Sale. I’ve thought about why I chose Chris from the variety of professional landscape photographers to help me and I’ve concluded that I have a connection with Chris, and so much so that we have become friends. Through watching Chris’s Youtube channel it just felt like the best fit with me.
I was thrilled when Chris asked me if I would like to take part in a “day in the life” short film that Chris’s fellow landscape photographer and Youtuber Julian Baird wanted to make. This will be a short film that will be on Julian’s Youtube channel, but will chronicle the day in the life of a professional landscape photographer.
Given that Chris undertakes a good deal of tuition, both in workshops and 121’s, it was natural that part of the film should include a tuition session. Given that we have become friends and have a rapour Chris asked me to be part of the filming for that session.
You can image how I felt when Chris asked me to not just be part of the filming of the tuition but to spend time with him and Julian over the whole weekend. It was safe to say I was like the proverbial dog with………..enough said.
What follows are images I took on the weekend. We had four shoots over 3 days, all around the Eastern Lake District. A proverbial marathon!!
Great Mell Fell Sunset (Friday evening)
An important part of planning photography shoots is about having a backup plan. A lesson well learned this weekend. The original intention was to photograph around Haweswater Reservoir, a location I was familiar with. Chris, Julian and I hiked up onto the Old Corpse Road overlooking “The Rigg” but the light and conditions weren’t helpful so we moved onto the backup plan, Great Mell Fell.
The weather was awful as we drove towards the car parking layby at the bottom of Great Mell Fell. When we set off up it wasn’t raining but was quite windy and it was very damp underfoot. We had several stops to catch our breath as we headed upwards, and I have to say I was very relieved when we reached the cairn at the top of the fell. Boy was that tough with all my gear in my backpack on my back.
The wind and rain lashed us as we stood on the top of the fell looking for compositions, so much so that extra layers were added below my jacket. My gloves also made an appearance. Compositions were hard to find, but we were treated to a fleeting glimpse of sunlight over a distant valley. Jacob’s ladder type rays flooded through the clouds and onto the landscape. I was pleased that I had my camera set up and ready as I managed to grab a couple of shots of the light in the valley.
The first image is landscape orientation and captures the full extent of the Jacobs ladder effect across the valley.
Jacobs Ladder
It’s talked about amongst photographers that you spend a lot of time waiting for the light to appear, and this was no exception. The light you see in these images lasted for no more than 3 minutes at the very most, and was gone almost as soon as it arrived. Chris and Julian didn’t bother to shoot, but I’m glad that I did. I have captured 2 images that I like as well as having added another Wainwright fell to my collection. We won’t mention that I ended up on my bum on the way down!!
Golden Light
Thirlmere Reservoir Sunrise (Saturday morning)
Saturday morning was an early start 5am my phone buzzed to tell me it was time to get up for the sunrise shoot. The drive to Thirlmere was 40 minutes, so I had plenty of time. We had thought about climbing Raven Crag but the weather at 5am told us that wasn’t a wise idea. We decided to head to the beach at the North end of the reservoir and shoot the sunrise looking at the views of Helvelyn.
Reflections
It was very still and calm as we walked down to the beach, and both Chris and Julian felt that some good shots could be bagged today. Chris and I went through the business of the tuition and we discussed compositions that would make the best shot in these conditions. I’ve not experienced such calmness before, so it was good to be able to get the benefit of his tuition to help frame the right compositions.
This first image is a portrait shot which captures the reflections of the fell as well as the tree lines on the opposite bank, with a rock in the water for some foreground interest. The surface of the water is so still that it could almost be a mirror.
Reflections of Helvelyn
The tuition continued and Julian was busy taking various pieces of footage designed to show off the tuition that was taking place. If I’m honest I really didn’t notice that we were being filmed until Julian appeared at the side of me and started to ask me some questions. Those of you who know me will testify that talking is not a problem for me.
I took quite a few images including the second image (above) that is a landscape orientation which shows Helvelyn shrouded in some mist, with a huge boulder on the waters edge that fits perfectly in the reflections on the water. I really like this image.
We had a stroll around the dam wall at the North end of the reservoir and Chris and I discussed an image that I had taken when I visited that spot recently. There are curved walls and these are not easy to balance in an image. I took an image that shows off the best use of the lines, but this final image of the morning was a selfie. Not your average Instagram selfie, but a Selfie nonetheless. In case you are wondering, the Crag I’m staring at is Raven Crag, the original destination of the morning.
Selfe
Derwent Water Sunset (Saturday evening)
A recurring theme of the weekend is that planning is of vital importance to a landscape photographer. I ate lunch in Penrith and was alerted by a message from Chris saying it was to windy to scale Walla Crag that afternoon. Plan B was to have a walk around Derwent Water, lots of opportunities for images there.
We met at the Lakeside Theatre car park and walked round to the wonderfully named Strandshag Bay (I kid you not). This was to be the location for some more filming by Julian, mainly with Chris talking about his approach etc. Whilst I had been to this location previously, the cold drove me back into town. So, a little exploration was needed. It was quite busy, as it was Saturday afternoon, so lots of dogs running around.
Another Lone Tree
As well as grand vistas of the fells there are some interesting trees scattered around and about on the shores of the lake. Regular readers will know that I do love a good lone tree and there are several examples throughout my pictures on my website. As I stood looking at the tree I could see the sky was a mixture of clouds, light and dark as well as rays of sunshine. This shot was taken with my tripod set quite close to the ground and I noticed that it was possible to get the tree framed into the dip between what I think are Causey Pike and Cat Bells.
The Fence
I’d noticed previously that an old fence which separated the beach from the woodland, led out into the water. I had taken some handhold shots of this on my previous visit. This time I was armed with my full kit, and I set up as close to the fence as possible. There are a few Islands within Derwentwater and St Herbert’s Island was in perfect position to be within most of the images I took. The sky was all moody and all in all I think this is a good shot.
Chris and Julian had packed up the filming part of the evening and decided that we should go explore other parts of Derwentwater as the sunset approached. We set off towards Isthmus Bay, but only got as far as Crow Park. Julian spotted a potential location for sunset, with views of Cat Bells as well as Derwent Isle.
It was here where I gained an insight into how Youtubers actually put together footage. Both Chris and Julian where filming clips for what would become youtube episodes for their respective sites. Chris telling the tale of the evening shoot, with Julian adding to his helpful hints for photographers episode. Fascinating stuff.
This last image from this sunrise shoot shows the components I mentioned before, along with a special guest. I called them ducks, Chris called them geese, either way they should bugger off. The sunset was really quite good. In fact the light on Skiddaw was wonderful, the problem was our cameras where pointed in the opposite direction!! Planning again is a crucial part of landscape photography.
Derwentwater Sunrise (Sunday morning)
Sunday morning was forecast to be misty and still. This is perfect conditions for a Cloud (temperature) inversion, or in this case lots of mist on the water. We stood on the beach at Strandshag Bay at 6.20am on Sunday and the waters were calm. No mist but calm waters.
We set up the cameras and waited for the sun to rise. What made an appearance before the sun was a huge flock of geese, and what a racket they made. This is their natural habitat but why make an appearance when I’m wanting to take reflection shots of Cat Bells!!
The Blues
This first image is the very first shot of the day. The sky has a blue hue and this was perfectly reflected on the waters of the lake. The camera shutter was open for 2 full minutes to get this shot. This is to make sure that enough light gets into the cameras sensor that it can process into an image that looks like the scene we could see with our eyes.
Blue and Orange
The colours in the sky and on the water gradually, ever so slowly changed as the sun rose. The still waters didn’t last very long, but we were treated to some lovely blues and oranges. For those who know about these things they are opposites on the colour wheel which makes them perfectly complimentary to each other.
As the shoot developed I pointed my camera down the lake towards the Borrowdale Fells, here there were some clouds lying on the top of Maiden Moor and Black Crag (I think).
Towards Borrowdale
The clouds where catching the light of the sunrise and made for a lovely shot. This image was taken at 100 mm, and is the longest focal length that I had. Even at this distance I think that this makes for a good image of both the fells and the sunlit clouds.
Cat Bells in Golden Light
Both Chris and Julian predicted that we would get some warm light on all of the fells that we could see across the lake. Sure enough they were both right and the sun rose and shone some lovely rich light onto the fells in front of us. This last image of the morning shows the light on the fells and I hope you agree that this is a fabulous end to the shoot, such rich colours.
Reflections
As I drove back home a few hours later I reflected on what had been a fabulous weekend of photography. As always when I’d met up with Chris I had learned such a lot. I’d been to some new locations and was able to see how the professionals approach a shoot of this type. We also had a good few laughs along the way to, which is very important I think.
At some point in the future the short film will appear on Julian’s Youtube channel and I will link through to that so anyone who is interested can view. Of course my part in it will win an Oscar as I’m the most naturally gifted actor never to grace the big (or small) screen. It’s clear to me that being a Professional Photographer is a lot of hard work. It’s like all jobs you get out of it what you put into it and I know Chris get’s a huge amount out of it.
As always with my trips to the Lakes, it has wet my appetite to go exploring the places I was pointing my camera at and you will all see the results of that exploration right here on my blog.