Category: Photography

On this weeks Photographic trip there was two things I wanted to capture on film. A
picture of Tintern Abbey which hopefully I had achieved the other day and a photograph of the Wye valley from the view point known as Symonds Yat. This was the goal for today.

Symonds Yat is also well known for its nesting Peregrine falcons that nest in the cliff face. So today I would be packing both the large format camera equipment but also the the digital SLR’s with a selection of lens from the 24-70mm f/2.8, 70-200mm f/2.8 and finally the 300mm f/2.8. Just in case I also had a Nikkor TC17 which to the lay person is a converter which can magnify the effect of a lens by x1.7 but only lose a stop and a half of light.

When we arrived the light was quite poor so I left the large format equipment in the boot of the car and just went up to the view point with the 35mm SLR equipment. The Peregrine falcons were nesting in the cliff face opposite but proved to be far to quick on the wing to allow a mere amateur wildlife photographer such as me to get a clear shot. The buzzards in the area also made a brief appearance but they too kept their distance.

We had a view visitors on some of the nearby trees but I did not manage to get a clear shot of any of them.  The above shot was about the best it got.

After a few hours of perseverance we headed back to the cafe to partake of the local lamb pasty. We then decided to pack up and go for a walk in the hope that once the sun started to set the weather might improve to enable me to capture the valley on the large format equipment.

We left the bulk of the camera gear in the car and just took the Leica and headed out on a short four mile walk through the forest. Unlike yesterday where we were carrying the large format gear and the big tripod up some quite challenging slopes today was much easier.

I spotted a few views that might make possible photographs in the future and its definitely an area I would come back to.

With the walk finished we went back to the hut near the view point to enjoy an ice cream and while there the clouds started to break and a hint of blue was to be seen. It looked like the might be a small chance of getting the photograph I wanted, so Caroline kindly headed back to the car to collect the large format gear and tripod.

Did the light improve and did I get my shot? Well when I get my film back I’ll blog some more.

I have photographed Tintern Abbey on two previous occasions. The first was on a major motorcycle tour where we visited each of the major points of the Island that is Great Britain. The first time I took a few snaps on a dull day. The second time was bright midday sun. Neither was conductive to great photography but I managed some pleasing reference shots.

Today the goal was to try and a get a good shot with the large format Ebony. I thought the best option was from the English side of the river. Yesterday I had tried to find a spot with the car but that proved impossible.

So today we had a long walk. We parked up at the Abbey and walked to the nearest bridge. On crossing I had hoped to be able to photograph the Abbey from the East bank but the bank was private property so the only option was to climb the tree lined valley side.

We kept on climbing but the trees kept obscuring the view back to the Abbey.

We knew from a previous visit and asking local people that some fine views could be had from a viewpoint called the Devils Pulpit but were unsure as to what it looked down on and exactly how far it was.

We kept on climbing and despite the difficult terrain and having to carry the large format camera equipment an a big heavy series five Gitzo tripod we eventual found ourselves at the viewpoint called the devils pulpit.

It did in deed have fine views of the river and of the Abbey so I set up to photograph it. It would have been better with a telephoto lens but the longest lens I current own for the Ebony is a standard 150mm. Still with the rocks that made up the Devils Pulpit I had a bit of foreground interest.

Once I get the film developed I’ll blog about this shoot some more but the climb was worth while.

Recently on Twitter there has been a discussion running about which camera, more particularly if you were limited to just one camera for the next ten years. No changing and no upgrading, what camera would you pick.

Because a lot of photographers in the discussion were Landscape Photographers there was a lot of bias towards the Larger formats and using film, but I though it an interesting question.

Because my Photography a mixture of genrers it’s difficult to pick a single camera. I would either have to pick a compromise or give up some genre of photography.

I found it very interesting that the top choices were for cameras like the old Bronica and Hassleblad and also for the brave the Ebony 10 x 8.

Certainly very good choices for the Landscape Photographers and the Bronica and Hassleblad also make good choices for studio photographers but for most of us not every day cameras.