My pics

Out in the wilderness of the US Southwest at the moment, been a pretty eventful trip, started off in Joshua Tree national park, wanted to do some astro photography, however it's the monsoon season in the Southwest right now, so a bit too much cloud to make it worthwhile, also lots of storms..

Unfortunately the first night at Joshua Tree was a nightmare, I hate large style American campsites, everything is designed for driving and I hate it - because they spend all night driving around in RVs and trucks until ******* 3am, to make matters worse I was next to a party of 6 who decided to have a rave until about 4am, by morning just about everyone on the campsite was raging and had had enough - including me.

I made the trek down to Kanab in Utah and got a wilderness permit to go to the Tuweep overlook of the grand canyon, it's a 70 mile dirt/mud road, with 5 miles of boulders and rocks to drive over at the end, so 4x4 required. Forget the south rim or north rim, there is no comparison to Tuweep, it is an utterly magical place - no services, no noise, no nonsense, no people - just an overlook right into the grand canyon itself. I did 2 days there, I could spend all week there to be frank, it's beyond words.

Some shots;

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Quick dirty pano of the campsite, managed to setup under a gigantic rock so was in the shade for most of the day;

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After that I headed to Page in Arizona, I wanted to go to White Pocket (which I went to earlier in the year) it's very remote and difficult to get to, (deep sand, slick sandstone rocks) when disaster struck, I got within 4 miles of the place when I had a low tire pressure alarm - the last place in the world you want to be is somewhere like that with a flat - I obviously had a spare, but in using it I'd have to get back without a backup, so with air still left in it and it looking like a slow puncture, I headed back to page and swapped the tire out in a Walmart carpark... I then went to a mexican joint and got ****** wrecked on margaritas as I needed to de-stress :D

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After that, I opted to head to New Mexico to photograph the "Bisti Badlands" one of my fave locations, it's an absolute goldmine of photographic opportunity, but it's really testing - it involves a lot of hiking and there are no "hot spots" or areas that get done to death, it's very much a case of finding your own compositions, rather than copying others. Combined with the remote nature of it and the low numbers of people who go, you have to put serious effort in to come away with anything half decent.

When I got there, there were several large thunderstorms in the area, gigantic dark anvil-shaped clouds, I scouted out a couple of locations and hoped that the setting sun would turn them purple. Those storm clouds stretch very high into the atmosphere, so there's always a good chance you'll get some colour.. I was about to pack up, when the light delivered;

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I'm heading back there later to try and scout out some more locations and I'll maybe in with a shout of getting some decent evening light again, just camping in a hotel at the moment, doing my laundry and other BS, in Farmington NM.
 
Back in the UK now, just been going through some other shots, a couple from Death Valley, was 47 degrees when I hiked out into the dunes, very tough going - the water in my canteen was like the hot tap lol.

I do wish I'd stayed in New Mexico for longer, I found a couple of really good spots - think I'll spend an entire week there next time,

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Lovely tones through the dunes and I always like how you render skies.

Just very pleasing.

Now you’ve had time to compare, thoughts on film vs digital for your uses?

Thanks!

I shot mostly Velvia 50 up until about 2014, it's... totally different to digital in a way that's hard to explain, technically it's very poor compared to digital in terms of exposure latitude, (11-12 stops) and with it being transparency, it blows out or underexposes if you're more than 1/3rd of a stop away. It makes shooting harsh landscapes very difficult and some shots become almost impossible - or require two grad filters to even out the distribution of light.

That said, in my opinion - Velvia 50 had a "look" that was and still is impossible to emulate, it wasn't the most natural of looks, it had a tendency to exaggerate magentas and had problems with greens, but Velvia 50 shots just look great in the right hands, they absolutely sing in a way that I've never seen digital images do.

There are still people out there shooting it, but I gave up 5x4 when they stopped making quickload - it also got so expensive to develop and scan, when you have the quality and convenience of something like a A7Riii, which is sharper and better in every way technically - then for me it's a no brainer... I will however say, that Velvia still has that look you just can't get from digital, and I really wish I still shot it sometimes...

Two good photographers who shoot Velvia;

http://www.into-the-light.com/
https://www.brucepercy.co.uk/
 
Interesting. Thanks. And what about MF digital vs FF? Is there a big difference there in the look and feel of the images as they come out?

There are a couple of comparisons on youtube of people comparing MF Technical to FF, unfortunately most of them don't really know what they're doing and just end up with similar images. MF Technical is very hard to use, harder than 5x4 film because with a digital back - the tolerances for focus and sharpness are so tiny - if anything is slightly off in terms of the setup, focus, or movements - the image won't be as good as it can be. You have to be a real technician to get the best out of them - it takes a lot of practice.

With Rodenstock Digaron lenses - there is literally no way you can physically get a sharper image, some of those lenses are actually used by planes for aerial photography and reconnaissance - because the MTF charts are so good - they're sharp corner to corner, and I mean seriously sharp.

Regarding sensors, the newer CMOS backs have now overtaken the older style CCD backs, however some people (including myself) feel that some of the CMOS backs make images look a little too smooth - the CCD backs had a tendency to give images a really nice organic look - again, like film it's hard to explain, the old (10 years?) Phase One P65+ is a good example of that - that back takes really really nice images, sure it's dynamic range sucks compared to an A7Riii, or Nikon D850. However - if you're a good photographer and understand how to use cameras and actual photography, rather than someone who's only interested in reading the specifications and buying the newest tech, I can guarantee that if you use an old P65+ you'll be very happy with the images it puts out, they have real depth.

The reasons I sold my Phase one kit were;
  • It was insanely heavy, I'm very fit and strong - but my whole pack ended up weighing nearly 40-50lb (just camera gear) and it ends up being prohibitive - (I can't carry anything else, like tents or camping kit)
  • The insurance cost almost the same as my car
  • It was so expensive that I became terrified of it, a few times I almost knocked it over...
  • The A7Riii is 85% as good and 1/4th the weight, I can fit my whole system into the bottom of a rucksack and go trekking with it
  • Lenses cost between £3000-10000 so making changes to the system is very difficult....
 
That makes a lot of sense. If it was your job and earned its keep then the Phase One gear signs hard to beat. However for getting around the FF Sony seems a lot more practical.

Any reason you went for Sony over the other options. Weight isn't really an issue and cost didn't seem to be so do you think the A7RIII is giving you the best images you can get with FF?

The main reason I went for the A7Riii is actually the Sony 16-35GM lens, as far as I can tell it's the best DSLR wide-angle lens money can buy right now, the New Canon 16-35 is almost as good - but I think Sony sensors are a lot better than Canon right now - especially for DR. I almost went for a D850, but I thought most of the wide-angle lenses were pretty poor in comparison. I think Sony's new lenses are first class.

I only do landscapes with this kit, literally only landscapes - nothing else, mostly iso 50 and manual focus with live-view... If I was shooting other things like sports, wildlife or whatever - I'd have gone for Nikon,
 
That's very interesting. I want sure what wide angle to get for my D7200 with fairly tight budget. In the end I went for the Tokina 11-20mm as the pictures I could find online looked pretty good.

I've heard the Sony glass is very good. Hopefully it had lit a fire under Nikon and Canon and we'll see some real innovation from the three of them.

I just need to decide on what filters to get for landscapes. I was thinking B+W ND +3, +6 and +10 with a graduated ND too?

The filter I use most often is a Lee 0.9 hard grad, I use it wherever I can - however sometimes it's better than blend than use grad filters, (because filters will darken anything that extends into the sky) so I tend to bracket and blend some images, whilst use filters for others, the other filter I use is a Lee 6 stopper for blurring the sky,

I'd say start with the +6 ND, and for a hard grad I'd start at 3 stops, (which is 0.9) and go from there :)
 
Enjoying your insight, thanks. It’s funny, when you first started sharing images from the Sony, they did not have the same look as your previous shots. It’s not that they looked more digital, but that organic look of the phase one you talk about. Maybe that’s it?

But now there doesn’t seem to be as noticeable a difference, the recent images could be MF if I didn’t know.

I think some of that might be down to the way I process images, I do everything manually - so things might differ from shot to shot, I don't have any scripts or macros in photoshop or C1, so I process every shot as a one off, I also think my processing has improved a bit recently so maybe that explains why some of them look more familiar,

In the end, both systems churn out really nice images, so I guess some of it could be placebo! who knows :D

Screeeech - any chance of some more "behind the scenes" shots next time? I always enjoy those. Both taking those and seeing them.

On a side note I went back and looked through some of the previous pages...the images in these...wow...really inspirational...REALLY so, for me at least anyway.

I hope my landscape photos are at least half as good as yours one day :)

Thanks for the kind comments! I did find a behind the scenes shot I did last year when I was in Scotland, on "Sgurr an Fhidhleir" (the fiddler) with the Phase one technical kit;

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I sold the Phase One a few months back, I outlined the reasons a few posts back, TLDR; too big, too heavy, too risky, too expensive to insure - the Sony is 85-90% as good... for 1/4th the cost..

My approach can vary, but it goes something like this;

  • Before I go to a location, make sure it's worth going - check things like sunrise/sunset direction, different locations are better at different times of the year - a good example being somewhere like Durdle Door, which due to the sun - is best around Christmas time, and not so great in the summer.. (along with most of the south coast) (because the sun sets and rises behind you)
  • I use Suncalc.net a lot, so I can have a general idea of what to expect in terms of light
  • I do a lot of driving, usually with minimal reservations with things like hotels - I like to keep as mobile as possible and sometimes change my mind at the last minute, usually depending on the weather, I hate being locked into a specific thing, because of a reservation or something,
  • In terms of research, it's easy to find example shots of a location I'm thinking of, but I try to keep away from copying other people - all too often people just put their tripod in the same three holes as the million people who came before. I'll usually get a few examples from general google images searches etc, but try to do my own thing when I get there.
  • The biggest thing I've learnt over the years is how to read the weather, specifically clouds - what types look good, and how they react to sunrise/sunset, I got burned a few times thinking that the sunset sucked, only as I'm driving off to be blown away by a nuclear-fire sky - because I made a bad call... So i've learnt through trial and error to know when it's likely to be worth hanging around, or whether it's going to be a waste of time :D
  • I also do a lot more hiking and camping these days, it's amazing the opportunities you can find if you go and scout out your own shots, as opposed to shooting from the road or from a viewpoint,
 
Screeeeeeech! :D I have some more questions for you if you don't mind? :D

I've been watching a LOT of Thomas Heaton lately. It's got me obsessing over landscaping photography and combining it with hiking & camping. One main thing though, which bag do you take for say a 1-night trip? What do you pack? would you mind making a list of some description? I am assuming its a hiking backpack of sorts with camping gear plus a camera gear packing cube to keep you body and lenses safe then tripod strapped to the outside? :)

If you fancy at some stage would definitely be up for joining you on a weekend of camping hiking and shooting at some stage :)

I don't really rate camera backpacks, you end up with a great big rucksack full of camera kit and no room for anything else. Because I'm shooting only landscapes - I only carry a single lens (16-35 GM) and have it attached to the body permanently, it's very small.

When I was last in Inverness I lucked out, and got one of those super posh Billingham bags (should have been like £250) from Ffordes for like £120, unused - still had the label on it, so I keep my body, wireless release and a Lee wide filter adapter in it. That just goes into the bottom of a medium sized patagonia rucksack, or a very large hiking rucksack if I'm camping, along with my filters which I keep in a large Lee holder (I have lots of them)

My Tripod I actually carry over my shoulder in a Manfrotto Tripod bag which was a godsend, my Tripod (Gitzo 2500 series) is a bit big to be attached to the rucksack, so it's easier slinging it over my shoulder.

As for camping, I go out with the following on a hike; (I mostly do this in the US)

  • 1 man tent,
  • Down sleeping bag (super expensive, but makes life 10x easier, as it compresses down very small and is insanely warm)
  • Inflatable mat (again, these are expensive - but they pack down so small, again makes life easier)
  • Propane stove, with the smallest fuel canister size
  • Couple of litres of water
  • For food I usually take re-hydratable food (mountain house, etc) they weigh nothing when carrying and taste pretty good! (put boiling water into them, kinda like a pot noodle but full meals)
  • First aid kit - I have a small one
  • Compass along with a map of the area, I also set google maps to download the offline area - it's pretty handy
  • In terms of clothing, I wear either a Paramo jacket with no baselayer, of if it's the middle of summer - just a lightweight goretex rain jacket
As for going out sometime yeah, sounds good - I'm going on a non-photographic holiday to Scotland in a few weeks for a few days, but aside from that - the fall and winter in Scotland is one of my favourite times so I'll probably be heading up there a lot over the next 6 months (Wester ross, Trotternish, Durness, etc), I have a Ford Ranger 4x4, with the right tyres I can go literally anywhere even in snow :D add me on facebook if you like, send me a trust if you need my details :)
 
Went away for Christmas to the Isle of Skye, staying in a cottage in Staffin which is nice, I went up the old man of storr this morning - really dull start, stood right at the back about 10 other photographers there at 7-8am. It looked like it was going to suck and most people packed up and left, however there was a hole in the cloud I'd been watching like a hawk - which was set to line-up with the rising sun, for about 2 minutes the whole place was bathed in bright orange beautiful Scottish light. Furtherdown I could see people running around trying to set back up again - but by the time it did, it was back in the clouds again.. If there's one thing I've learnt - NEVER pack up until you're sure it's going to be a written off morning :D

Edit - changed the image, wasn't happy with the initial processing (that bottle of Botanist Gin I got from Portree is making processing a little tougher than normal :p )

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Ah, beautiful. Lovely way to finish your photography for the year (although I suspect that there might be a few more given that location!)

Cheers! Yeah - is a nice way to end the year, I might have a go at the Quirang in the morning - we hiked the full loop of it earlier which was nice, found a tree that's screaming to be photographed... Failing that - I might take a trip down to Elgol or the usual places, I'm with my partner so photography has to take second place on this trip!
 
Went for a hike up the Quirang on Skye yesterday morning, was a nice morning albeit a little too clear for me - but still nice nonetheless.

Weather is going to be awful the next few days, so I might have a go at some gloom shots, I have a few ideas for some jetties nearby, might try to 10 minute exposures.

Yesterday's Quirang shot, A7riii double exposure blend,

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Has the tree/that spot got a name? It's regularly shot and the view looks great.

Yeah i've seen it stacks of times, I've never actually shot it before - so I thought i'd have a go, although the sun wasn't really in the right place for it. It's a nice hike if you go all the way around and back across the Trotternish ridge, great viewpoint.

Unfortunately the weather for the rest of the week sucked pretty bad, Skye drizzle, grey, rain - so I drove about a bit and had a go at some gloomy shots, the only thing of any real worth was a nice jetty I found, the rest of the time we got wrecked on gin and tonic in the cottage :D

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@Screeeech your photos are amazing - I have some holiday that I need to take in January and you've pretty much single handedly persuaded me to take a trip up to Skye. Have you had a chance to get out to Eilean Donan castle, or the fairy pools? Those are pretty high up my list of places to visit!

Thanks man!

I'm not a huge fan of Eilean Donan castle for photography, it's always very busy - but there are some good nearby shots if it's in good light.

The fairy pools are really good, but the conditions have to be right - you don't want too much water, otherwise it's quite muddy and the pools are all covered by a torrent of water, but if the conditions are right it's stunning, really deep, fluoride blue pools - with the black Cullins as a background. I've been up there a few times but I've yet to capture anything decent from there.

I was lucky enough to go to Skye back in 2010 when it was freezing, it snowed like hell (which is unusual for Skye) and was about -10 so everything looked phenomenal, I managed to dig out a couple of shots I took ages ago, on my old camera; (5x4 large format + Velvia)

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January should be a good month to go, if you're lucky it will be cold - the colder the better on Skye, because it's an island it tends to be warmer and suffers more from long periods of drizzle and misery, that the mainland doesn't - if it's cold and the Cullin gets a good dusting of snow, that whole area will produce amazing shots.

I've got to go away to LA for 6 weeks at the end of Jan, which is a bit annoying as I'd like to hit Skye again when it freezes (sometime around Jan and March) but if it does freeze before I go away, I'll be up there immediately. Skye is absolutely world class in good conditions, it's just getting those conditions..
 
Cheers!

Found one last one from my old large format collection, I miss that camera - shooting Velvia 50 felt like traditional cooking, like cooking lamb or duck in butter in a pan - traditional, pure, rich, simple - but so bloody tasty! Compared to all this modern stuff :D

Barely processed at all, practically right off a scanner (hasselblad drum scanner - I used to get them done professionally)

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Message me if that happens :)

Seriously.

Yeah I will do, it'll be short notice though - these January freezes tend to come with only 2-3 days warning at the most, there's talk of it maybe happening next week - but I take those reports with a pinch of salt.
 
I can be pretty flexible with that :) - if when it happens I have plans then oh well, but if not. I'll meet you at an airport! :)

Yeah, the last year or two when it's happened - it's been really cold, dumped a huge load of snow and iced up, but it's all gone within 5 days - so if it does happen, we'll have to be quick - but it mark my words it'll be worth it lol :) keep your eye on the forecasts.. My only worry is it'll happen after January when I have to go away, but meh.
 
Tower of London image using the wall as a leading line works very well.
It looks exceptionally sharp so is it a high mega pixel image and what camera did you use ?

Cheers,

That was shot with my Phase one technical kit, (which I've now sold) it cost me about £25k, it was a fantastic piece of kit;

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The digital back was a Phase one IQ260 (60 MP) but the best part about it, was the Rodenstock Digaron HR 32mm (19mm 35 equivalent) that lens cost me £9k and honestly, it was worth every penny, sharpest lens I've ever seen corner to corner, absolutely insane.

Required a lot of practise though, I'd say it was harder to shoot than 5x4l large format film, as the tolerances for focus are so tiny with medium format digital, the slightest issue and everything is soft, but get it right - and you enter another world of detail and images that just look unexplainably great.

In the end, I sold it because - despite being very fit and strong, the whole kit combined weighed around 40lb (and that's just camera kit) so going on longer hikes, camping in places like the desert etc - ended up being a massive chore, the insurance cost was also more than my car, I also became terrified after I almost knocked it over a cliff.... Those factors combined with the fact I can get 85% of the quality with an A7riii meant it was just too much to justify...
 
Screeech, wanna come shoot the Matterhorn with me in the next few months?

Yeah - could be a laugh, I've got quite a complicated few months coming up though, got to go to LA for 6 weeks next week, so I'll know more when I get back after that.. It's mostly work related, but I imagine I'll end up in some frightening place in the middle of death valley in a Jeep at some point :p
 
In Death Valley at the moment, took a few days to go and give it a go, lots of weather and rain for the last few days, it's also really cold, 14 degrees in Death Valley is the coldest i've ever experienced it, it was 49 last time I was here.

Spent the evening in Badwater Basin, which looks amazing with some weather in it, had a good sunset too. Going to do some 4x4 driving tomorrow, might go to a ghost town called "Chloride city" or I might go to the Eureka dunes, gonna have a lay in as I've been driving since 5am..

A7Riii 16-35 GM

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