Lakedistrict 2010 Photography Trip (Part 2)
In August this year (2010) I visited the Lake District this is the second part of the stor
y behind the photographs taken during the visit.
There are many tourist hot spots in the Lake District. For photographers one of these has to be Aira Force near Ullswater. Aira Force is easily accessible, a small car park at the side of the road. Good clear paths and some steps (steep, slippery) with a convenient handrail lead you down to the viewing point. This is where the problem begins everyone has been there and many more are about to follow after you. I am not concerned with taking 100% original never done before photographs because I don’t believe they exist, and to some degree every picture is different if only for the reason that only you were there at that time. What I do believe in though is “working a location”; getting to know it the best you can in the time that you have available, and using this time to capture a range of compositions. Sometimes walking a little further down a trail or peeking around a corner can open up new possibilities. This method does not always produce stunning photographs; sometimes there is only one viewpoint that can truly do a scene justice, but I had travelled 400 miles to visit the Lake District, surely I owed it to myself that I put some effort in to each location that I visited.
This first image (above right) is the typical view of Aira Force you see in the tourist guides, it is more commonly seen in Colour rather than Black and White. I have taken care when composing the photograph to ensure that the safety railings and concrete steps are kept out of the composition. The biggest challenge here was the lighting and conditions the picture was taken under (I will cover this in another post in the future). It was very dark at the bottom of the waterfall and bright at the top, the spray was constantly falling on the camera.
Having taken this picture I knew I would have a good photograph of Aira Force, but I also knew that this was nothing new, it told me no more about the landscape than I already knew from guide books. My mind was drawn to the fact that if there is a bridge at the top then I must be able to get up there and see more of Aira Beck. I walked back up the footpaths to the top and spent a little time wandering around the bridge, but none of the compositions felt right. Exploring further along the beck produce more interesting photographic opportunities. It was not until I was about to turn around and give up that I found a clearing in the wood with a perfectly placed dry gravel bed to stand on. I was first attracted to the waterfall. I tried a number of compositions but they all lacked interest, then by choosing a high view point (The camera was above my head) I was able to include the pool above the waterfall leading your eye deeper into the scene until connecting with the second waterfall in the distance. This gives the eye a pleasing journey to take it through the composition.
The close up is there to tell the viewer a little more about the detail in the landscape, it is part of the main image composed from a different angle. Can you see which part?
Next time you find yourself at one of our many over visited natural beauty spots Work the location take a few different photographs, close in on the details to try and say something about the landscape. As digital photography and our renewed interest in the outdoors grows a single “seen before image” however well executed will not be enough to satisfy the camera club judges. Nor should it satisfy the photographer. Use your 2 most important pieces of equipment to the full – legs and eyes!