Here’s a wallpaper pack for the interest in my photography. Feel free to share this with your friends. Hopefully the images give you a little taste of Dartmoor! The resolution of these images is 1920×1080. Please don’t distribute them or use them for any purpose other than as a wallpaper!

You can download the wallpapers here: http://www.alexnail.com/upload/files/1920.zip

The images contained in the pack are as follows:

Frozen eyelashes and eyebrows, a new experience!

The ascent of Pen Y Fan is relatively easy, especially when compared to Scottish peaks, but the freezing rain and low visibility made the walk feel more like a death march. It was at least amusing to experience our clothes gradually solidifying and it gave a new meaning to the term ‘waterproof shell’!

For the last 50m we donned our crampons making the uphill walk considerably easier. Once at Pen y Fan it was easy to find a pitch and we didn’t hesitate in setting the tent up, such was the cold at the time. I have a Terra Nova Ultra Quasar, a full on mountain tent and it’s nice to have that security when you are on a mountain summit!

The visibility never improved, the whole walk was completed without seeing anything but the path but I was hopeful that the weather forecast would come true and we would be greeted with fine weather by morning.

A big dinner helped to warm us up before going to sleep

We spent the evening chatting whilst wrapped up in thick down sleeping bags. People have asked me previously whether I get bored on winter evenings when it gets dark so early but somehow the time just goes, even when I am alone.

Although cold initially, dinner soon warmed us up (I had 2 packets of noodles and 50g of chocolate) and after a cup of hot chocolate we went to bed and slept well through the night. I actually woke around midnight to take my down jacket off because I was too hot. It was still around freezing in the tent though! Down is an incredible insulator and my Alpkit Skyehigh 1000 sleeping bag has been worth its weight in gold during the winter.

Every few hours I would get up to have a look at the weather outside. At 4am we were still in cloud, but finally when the alarm went off at 5.30 I looked outside and saw (to my delight) high clouds overhead and a gap on the eastern horizon. We were in for a cracker of a sunrise!

I’ll admit that it still look me a while to get out of the tent. Putting on frozen clothes isn’t one of my favourite activities warming numb hands in frozen gloves is no easy feat. We were at least fortunate that there was no wind which would have made things quite unpleasant. When I know I’m about to have some spectacular light I tend to forget about everything else. After a quick snapshot of our home covered in ice I went to seek out compositions.

Tom and I after finally getting out of the tent. Chilly but not unbearable! Corn Du is in the background

In the full knowledge that the high altitude clouds would soon be glowing red I looked for a composition into the sun and after exploring the cliff of Pen Y Fan I settled on some interesting foreground detail and a panoramic format which I knew would work. With ‘The Shot’ planned I set off in search of other images.

Much of the surrounding area was covered in ice crystals which were pretty fascinating to look at. The first image of the morning was of grasses covered in white with Corn Du behind. I planned to reshoot the image with sunlight on it, but in the end I preferred the subtlety of the twilight image.

Softer light might not have the 'wow' effect but it can feel more atmospheric

I also made my way along the ridge line searching for foreground subjects, the idea being to contrast the cold blue light on the snow with the warm sunlight that would soon hit Corn Du.

The focus of the morning shoot remained on the panorama and with a couple of compositions lined up I headed back to the cliff edge, set up my camera and double checked my settings and focus. I was ready! Minutes before sunrise the clouds lit up a fiery red, a spectacular site. I was keen to shoot the view in the cold diffuse light prior to sun up, and shot one complete panorama, later deciding to crop it to the image below.

Just before sunrise the clouds were most colourful. Altocumulus at sunrise! Is there anything better?

The intention was always to shoot the full view in all it’s glory and as the sun crested the horizon the foreground snow inevitably lit up. It’s hard to describe to a non-landscape photographer just how exciting such moments are. These are the mornings that I spend numerous unsuccessful trip for! Being in the right place at the right time unfortunately requires being in the right place at the wrong time all too often!

Pen y Fan at sunrise. I really couldn't have hoped for better conditions in any respect. It's rare I can say that!

As the sun crept above the horizon I shot the complete panorama 3 times, choosing the last of the images for its richer pinks on the snowy foreground. I double checked the images on the LCD before moving on to photograph other things.

First I re-shot the image of the grasses that I had taken minutes earlier. I’ll let you be the judge of which is better, but for me the light in this particular case destroys the content of the image. I also think I was more sucessful with my initial composition.

The 'wow' version of an earlier shot, but I prefer the subtlety of the original

After that it was off to the composition at the cliff edge which I had scouted earlier. It was rather precarious even in crampons, but I’m happy with the result. You can see virga comping from the cloud, an unusual sight.#

From Pen y Fan to Corn Du at sunrise

I followed this image up with an attempt to capture the combination of light and texture on top of the mountain. The resultant image was a little rushed and a complete compositional failure. The foreground subject is detached from the mountain beyond which in turn has been completely stunted by the hill. I have no idea why I thought this would work!

A compositional disaster. What was I thinking?!?

Then it was back to shooting into the sun again in case the brighter light brought something new to the image. I like the below shot, but at the same time I am aware that the better image was captured earlier. I may add this shot to my portfolio one day, but for the time being it will sit in the archive with the rest!

The light was still wonderful but the very best moment had passed

Despite the spectacular light I couldn’t resist photographing the tent over and over covered as it was in ice and snow. It’s fair to say that I wasted much of the light that morning, but this is one of the luxuries of not being a professional photographer. It allowed me to take it all in and chat to a few other walkers who had found there way up the mountain in the darkness.

The tent, a rainbow and virga at sunrise. I couldn't find a good foreground shooting north so the tent filled in!

The wild camp on Pen y Fan was one of my favourite ever trips, and no doubt I will be returning some time soon!

Processing the panorama

I know people find processing endlessly fascinating so here’s a quick view of the panoramas which were stitched in PTGui and later blended in Photoshop. The image is mostly comprised of the brightest +1.5 EV exposure. The darkest -1.5 EV exposure was only used on a low opacity close to the sun to recover detail.

15 frames were used to make 3 panoramas which were parallax corrected and then blended in photoshop

I’ve recently got into photography after purchasing my first DSLR which I use primarily for film (I study film and tv) and I’m beginning to get more familiar with photography too. I was just wondering, I always see this pictures which are so crisp with colour and your photos are like that too. How do you achieve such good pictures? I know shutter speed plays an important role in it from what I’ve learnt. Do you leave your shutter for a long time on your photos or do you just take them quickly? Also, do you use a low aperture for landscape photography? Because you’ll want to see everything after you focus to infinity right?

Good lighting, correct exposure, levels adjustment and minor saturation increases are the key to clear vibrant photos. Of these light and exposure are most important. In general you want rich colourful light if you want to end up with a richly colourful photo (although in some cases diffuse light is best)! As far as exposure goes it is generally desirable to have some true whites and some true blacks (but not too much of either!). If this cant be acheived in camera then you can correct the image using the levels or curves tool in Photoshop or by using your RAW converter.

One of my first images showing underexposure of half a stop or so. I have corrected it using levels, added contrast with curves (and warmed the whitebalance), added a bit of saturation and lastly sharpened for web properly!

Long exposures do not increase saturation, clarity or contrast; this is a popular misconception. The only occasion a long exposure can help with colour is when you have reflections on moving water. I nearly always select a shutter speed that gives me the correct exposure. My camera is regularly set at f11 and ISO100, if I am shooting woodland on an overcast day then I will need a longer exposure than shooting into the setting sun, pretty simple!

This image shows how reflections can spread across the surface of moving water during a long exposure. This apparent increase in saturation is the exception not the rule!

As far as aperture goes most lenses are sharpest around f8, however they are still extremely sharp at f11 to f13. The smaller the aperture the greater the depth of field. Nearly all my images are at f11 or f13 unless I need more light to enter the lens (in astrophotography for example). If you shoot at apertures smaller than f13 you are likely to see the image start to soften due to diffraction. By F22 this effect is obvious at the pixel level.

If you are shooting an astrophoto then you need as much light as possible and a wide aperture of f4 or more may be desirable. Otherwise you are best off around f11!

If there is a Dartmoor Location with almost limitless photographic possibilities, its Tavy Cleave and its surrounding Tors. I have visited the Cleave countless times and I am far from exhausting it’s potential. Throughout the seasons Tavy Cleave is quite simply wonderful

Tavy Cleave is fantastic throughout the seasons, but this August sunrise was the highlight of my previous visits

How to get there.

The relative inaccessibility of Tavy Cleave is no doubt the sole reason that it hasn’t been photographed to death! The drive from the A387 will take 20 minutes alone. Then you have a mile to walk along the leapt before you are into Tavy Cleave itself.

If driving north along the A387 from Tavistock take a right turn at the turning for Peter Tavy. Keep on this road for around 15 minutes taking your through Peter Tavy and Cuddliptown. Take a left turn down the valley to Hill Bridge and from this point keep going, taking a left turn at the only junction. You should finish at Lane End, just past Willsworthy, park here. Up in front of you is Ger Tor, to the right (west) of the Tor flows the River Tavy.

There are 2 ways to reach Tavy Cleave, via Ger Tor, or by walking along the leat. The latter is much easier and will also take you passed a section of pools and rapids below Ger Tor which can make excellent images.

Once you have parked follow the rough track towards the farm buildings, the skirt up to the leat and follow the path into the Cleave. The below maps should give you an idea!

Photographic Opportunities

Where to start!!! I could write a thousand words on the shots I have taken or have planned, nevermind all the other scenes I have yet to discover! Instead I will pick out a couple of the best locations

Tavy Cleave Waterfall

Just below the Sharp Tor, one of the ‘Tavy Cleave Tors’, lies a small waterfall and rapid at the head of a large pool. The dramatic surroundings of the Cleave combined with this beautiful rapid and overhanging tree creates a lot of photographic potential. You can shoot the rapid from both banks of the river, the eastern bank being the ‘best’. When the water level is low you can stand on platforms of rock almost at the water level and get really close to the water. When the water is high the flow can be quite fearsome. This waterfall in Tavy Cleave is also a fantastic location to illustrate Dartmoor’s changing seasons. In winter snow and ice transform the scene, autumn and spring the golden grasses look stunning in the sunlight. In summer the hillsides and overhanging tree are covered in vivid green and in late August and early September heather carpets the tors above

The main rapid of Tavy Cleave, a magical Dartmoor location

Sharp Tor

The view from Sharp Tor is breathtaking, the tor has one of the steepest gradients giving a wonderful sense of height. The view down the winding cleave in both directions is excellent. In the late summer there is a good covering of heather on the tor making it even more photogenic. A word of warning, be extremely careful if you decide to descend or ascend the tor on its steepest face. Not only is it heavy going the gaps between the rocks are potentially lethal and I have had a couple of scares over the years.

Sharp Tor overlooks Tavy Cleave, its steep gradients make it ver photogenic.

Views from the surrounding hillsides

There are many many views to be had of Tavy Cleave, I would encourage you to explore the surroundings thoroughly, almost every aspect provides the potential for a strong composition.

Potential Pitfalls

The sun rises late at Tavy Cleave, this was taken more than an hour after sunset

The tors around Tavy Cleave are lower than the surrounding landscape. As such they never get the first or the last of the light. Don’t let it put you off, but bear it in mind! One way around this is to start at Hare Tor for sunrise and then quickly make your way to the Tavy Cleave as the sun gets a little higher. Preparation is key!

Camping at Tavy Cleave

If you want to go camping on Dartmoor, Tavy Cleave is pretty hard to beat. There are 4 excellent grassy pitches along the banks of the river, each of them with enough room for 3 or 4 small tents. All 3 areas have moderately good shelter from varying wind directions, just hope the  I have also camped up at Ger Tor and on Sharp Tor. Please remember to be responsible. NO FIRES (I have seen people light fires at Tavy Cleave before, its very damaging). Please take everything with you when you leave, I end up picking up rubbish every single time I visit!

The pitches are at the following locations:

As you round the first corner to get a view of Ger Tor, there is a pitch down at water level on the eastern bank As you reach the structure at the start of the leat there is another pitch at water level on the eastern bank When you reach the main waterfall and pool at Tavy Cleave there is a big pitch area on the eastern bank Below the MOD hut where the rattlebrook meets the Tavy there is another large pitching area with a second smaller pitch nearby.

For the more adventurous you can hike the length of Tavy Cleave all the way up to Fur Tor. There are some excellent pitches up there but it can be waterlogged after heavy rain and the stream and bog that protects the tor can be hard to cross.

Images of Tavy Cleave

Tavy Cleave as seen from Sharp Tor in the morning.

Looking back on Tavy Cleave from the north. There is an excellent camping spot at the bottom left of the image

Tavy Cleave seems to have its own microclimate, the weather here is often worse than other areas of the moor but it can be spectacular

If you fancy a longer walk a trip to Fur Tor reveals a wonderful view of the winding Cleave

Tavy Cleave is a location well suited to stormy skies, if you get a burst of sunshine it can come alive.

The likelihood of a tripod tipping over is related to the strength of the wind and the cameras centre of gravity relative to the location of its feet. A tripod with a wide base is hence less likely to tip over in the wind. The size of the tripod base is one of the most significant factors when it comes to resisting tripod vibration in the wind. A wide base is highly desirable in this regard. The trade must be made by the tripod manufacturer as to whether to prioritise maximum height or the size of the base. Setting a wider leg angle increase the size of the base and stability but also reduces its height.

I recently purchased a Gitzo 1541 Mountaineer. The tripod wasn’t for me for a number of reasons but the biggest issue I had was the relatively narrow base at the tripods highest setting. I felt that the ‘default’ leg angle was simply too acute and stability had been sacrificed to squeeze out a tiny bit of additional height. I have since reverted back to my G2228 Explorer tripod, to allow me to set the legs as wide as I like. However I thought I would look into leg angles to see if Gitzo, Manfrotto and other tripod manufacturers were getting it right or not.

The diagram below shows the simple trigonometry and algebra to see the trade-off between height and stability. The diagram considers the worst tripod orientation relative to the wind direction (not that this matters when it comes to the analysis)

Hopefully you can follow the maths. If you can't just read on!

Analysis

D=WTanA/1.6

Where D is the drag force due to wind W is the combined weight of the camera and tripod (a constant) A is the leg angle At the tipping point drag force D is proportional to TanA.

H = LCosA

Where H is the tripod height with centre column retracted L is the length of the tripod leg (a constant) A is the leg angle The height H is proportional to CosA

Now if we plug in some values for A (in this case 24 degrees, 30 degrees and 35 degrees) then we can see how a wider leg angle might affect tripod height and tripod stability.

• Tan24 = 0.445
• Cos24 = 0.913
• Tan30 = 0.577
• Cos30 = 0.866
• Cos35 = 0.819
•  Tan35 = 0.700

If the standard leg angle was changed from 24 degrees to 30 degrees this would result in a resistance to tipping increase of 30% with a reduction in height of only 5% (without the centre column) this would mean that the Gitzo mountaineer would go from 138cm to 131cm for a 30% increase in tipping resistance. Setting the leg angle to 35 degrees reduces the height by 10% but increases tipping resistance by a massive 57%!

Conclusion

The trade between height and stability/tipping resistance is a hard one to strike. In my opinion the standard leg angle of 24 degrees is too narrow. A leg angle of 30 degrees would produce a marked stability increase at a minimal cost to extended height. The issue is compounded further if you don’t set up the tripod properly. Setting it up at an angle pointing downwind increases the tripods likelihood of tipping over and reduces its stability. This is the regular cause of tripods blowing over in the wind. A wider tripod base would allow a greater margin for error. This all leads me to the conclusion that having variable leg angles is a hugely useful feature. When its really windy you can set your tripod legs to 35 degrees, increasing stability by 57% with only a small reduction in height. Equally when it is calm you might like to set the legs to 20 degrees to gain a higher viewpoint.

Better light

The sun is lower in the sky in winter months than in summer months. As a result the period which ‘good light’ lasts for is significantly increased giving us more light to work with on a workshop. Obviously poor weather can sometimes pose a problem and if persistent rain or worse is forecast we can always reschedule.

Ice and snow

In the past couple of years we have had our fair share of ice and snow on Dartmoor. There is generally more to shoot in these conditions, not just in terms of the wide, scenic views but also the closer views that can often be overlooked.

Snow can transform the landscape turning even heavily photographed locations into something new

Shoot sunrise and sunset!

My winter Dartmoor Workshops will include the chance to shoot sunrise and sunset on the same day. There will be a minimum of 8 hours tuition on a days workshop which will be extended if there is a chance of a sunset. The opportunity to shoot throughout the day should help your understanding of light. It also doubles the chance of getting some great light!

Wonderful colours

In the winter the grass and bracken on the Dartmoor is dead. This produces fiery golds and oranges at sunset, a depth of colour you rarely see in the summer months.

The golden and orange grasses in the winter can become particularly vivid at sunrise and sunset

Astrophotography

Winter is the best time to do Astrophotography on Dartmoor. Not only is the air generally clearer but the longer nights mean we can have a few hours outside in the dark without finishing too late. If you wish to join me on a workshop that incorporates astrophotography then we will generally start around 11am and work until 7 or 8pm.

Better visibility

The colder air of the winter doesn’t carry particulates as much as the summer. As a result the air is often clearer, a great bonus for scenic landscape photography.

The colder air of the winter months is often clearer than in the summer

Fewer people

The solitude of Dartmoor in the winter can be simply wonderful. In the summer, especially in June, July and August, certain areas of the moor become a little overcrowded. Whilst this is rarely a problem there is something really nice about having the moor to yourself in the winter. There are also less landscape photographers out, so you have a better chance of a unique shot!

Practical matters

I realise that there may be issues within travel in the winter and for that reason if there are any issues with attending a workshop I will happily reschedule.

It is bitterly cold sometimes on Dartmoor in the winter so I suggest you overdress! Put on plenty of layers and be sure to bring a coat. Don’t worry, you will have a great time!

If you are interested in booking a workshop please visit my workshops page.

This Saturday I made a last minute decision to head for the Clifton Suspension Bridge after looking at the sky and realising late on that something special might happen! High cirrus and a gap on the horizon had me thinking of pink skies and so I cancelled my shopping plans and headed for the bridge.

After a short drive and run I was at one of the classic viewpoints of Clifton Suspension Bridge just as the sky became colourful. In my rush to leave home I left without my wide-angle lens (I usually have my gear ready but not this time!). This turned out to be a blessing in disguise and forced my hand into shooting an ultra high resolution panoramic.

The Clifton Suspension Bridge over the Avon Gorge at sunset

Shooting technique

Armed with my Canon 5DmkII, 50mm 1.4 and tripod the only way I could capture a full view of the bridge was to shoot a panoramic of vertical frames.

When shooting panoramic it is important to ensure that the tripod is not only stable, but also level. This is so that as you pan the camera the horizon position doesn’t move vertically around the frame. If you want to shoot a panorama in vertical orientation it helps to have an L-plate as well (I have never got on with the slots on ballheads for changing camera orientation!)

Once the tripod is in the right location you can start to figure out your exposures. Usually at sunset you will either have to use graduated filters or exposure blending. I tend to prefer the exposure blending option due to its flexibility. In this case the highest contrast was on the right side of the image. The Avon Gorge was in shadow, providing the darkest tones, whilst the sky above it wasn’t far from the sun and so was significantly brighter than the rest of the sky.

When shooting panoramas it is best to shoot in manual mode since otherwise the camera is likely to vary the exposure as you pan the camera. Using live view and a timer I fired off 3 bracketed shots towards the right side of the final image to determine my exposure. The 3 shots generated had a total range of 3 stops and captured the full tonal range. I fired another set of exposures to the left side of the image just to double check that the exposure was correct. I double checked my focus, stopped down to f13 and then waited for the clouds to become more colourful.

As the pinks developed in the clouds over the Clifton Suspension Bridge I shot a series of bracketed panoramas. Generally it’s best to have massive overlaps and take more shots than you need, this makes a good stitching result more likely. I generally try to get 50% overlaps. In total the final image was produced from 5 bracketed sets of frames (5×3).

Processing

The 15 frames were combined into 3 separately exposed panoramas using PTGui and the same settings (I will do a tutorial on this process at some point but essentially the geometry of each panoramic exposure must be the same otherwise the blend will never work!).

I copied the 3 panoramas onto separate layers on a Photoshop file, cropped the image to the final composition and set to work creating the exposure blend. Again, I wont go into details here of how the blend was achieved but it was a relatively simple process. One slight complication came in areas where there were streaks on the road from cars where I was mixing the two brightest exposures. This created an unpleasant ghosting effect. The only way around this was to show the brightest layer at 100% opacity in that local region, and then locally darken it to match the brightness of the blended exposures. This might be hard to understand so take a look at the Photoshop file!

I used 3 exposures to capture the full dynamic range. Each of the panoramics is comprised of 5 frames. The darkest image is used for parts of the sky, the other 2 make up the bulk of the pixels!

Once the blend was done I started making adjustments to the image. I almost exclusively use curves and hand painted masks to correct my images. In this case the priority was improving the clarity of the image by removing a magenta cast and setting a true black point. Once this was achieved I started editing the local brightness and contrast of the image to reveal the full detail of the scene, its true colour and create balance between the bright cliff side on the left, and the dark side of the gorge on the right.

At the top is the image after the exposure blend. Below it is the image after the adjustments have been applied. Nearly all of which were curves adjustments.

Final Result

Some lazy masking lead me to tweak the image a few times but I am now pleased that the result captures the full potential of the scene.

The cropped panorama is 11000×5000, 55mp. At 300ppi this will allow a print of 37″ and would produce outstanding detail at this size. I have no doubt that a 60″ image would look excellent up close.

Here are some 100% crops. You can see people on the bridge!

Scaffolding

This image is one of the highest quality images I have ever taken in terms of sharpness and detail, rivalling medium format. The composition is classic but still successful, the light was of course wonderful and I was even lucky enough that it happened to be high tide! . The only slight niggle I have is the scaffolding, what a shame!

Shame about the scaffolding, of course nothing can be perfect!

Be on location at sunrise/sunset and at night and get more sleep!

Massive hikes before sunrise or after sunset can be a real issue, I should know, I’ve done them. In the summer its almost impossible to be shooting sunrise and sunset and get enough sleep and its even more of an issue if you are eating away at your time in bed because your location is miles from the car! I regularly set up my tent within meters of my planned shot for the following morning although on occasion I have still had a moderate hike.

If you want to do astrophotography you just need to crawl out of your sleeping bag!

Get unique images

Most photographs are taken at the road side, or on short walks. If you count the number of images taken at sunset on mountaintops there will be ten or one hundred times as many taken at the bottom. It can be a bit difficult being in the middle of nowhere at sunrise or sunset and as a result the majority take the easy route and spend more time in bed. If you are prepared to go camping and go the extra yard it will open up doors for your photography and you won’t be like the many hundreds of other photographer who only shoot roadside views.

Do it for fun

Camping can be a lot of fun, even on your own. If you’re a sociable person then go with another friend or photographer.

Camping with a friend is great and adds a degree of safety for risky pitches like this one on top of Suilven.

Save money (in the long run)

Camping gear can get very expensive, but if you regularly head away from home on photography trips the savings on accommodation can be significant. Even a youth hostel costs £20 a night and it doesn’t guarantee you a good nights sleep. If you only want to camp in nice summer weather then camping can be extremely cheap. £200 should buy you everything you need. My equipment is going on for 10 times as much, but that really isnt necessary at all, my early camping was all done with budget gear and I was perfectly happy!

Increase your understanding of the landscape and weather

It goes without saying that the more time you spend outdoors the more you will understand it. You might even grow to love it. When I started photography I loved spectacular views, but I wasn’t particularly enthused by nature itself. That couldn’t be further from the case now. I have no doubt that camping wild is largely responsible. There is something totally magical about camping out in the winter on a freezing cold starry night in total silence and solitude.

You can wild camp all over the highlands of Scotland, here I am with Guy Richardson at the Quirang

Streamline your camera gear

One of the photographers I chat to occasionally on-line recently informed me that he took 15kg of camera gear up Snowdon. You simply wont be able to take that much gear with you wild camping, but rather than being restricting you may find it actually helps you to focus on what is really important, the images. You will start to realise that you don’t need multiple overlapping zooms, or additional primes for that last bit of sharpness. 3 lenses is all you need, I usually take 2.

Get fit

Obviously lugging camera gear and camping gear around on your back is going to get you fit and that’s a great way of banishing photographic laziness!

Tiredness is a regular companion when mountain climbing with 20kg on your back but with it comes huge satisfaction

What camping gear do I need?

This really depends on where you want to camp and in what conditions! You will certainly need: a shelter, sleeping gear, rucksack, food and suitable outdoor clothing. The gear list below might set you back around £300-£400 (exc. clothing) but you can get almost the same performance for less money, particularly if you buy second hand.

A geodesic tent like this Terra Nova Ultra Quasar is excellent in the wind but very expensive!

Shelter – You can use either a bivvy or a tent. I have never used a bivvy so I will talk about tents instead! General factors to think about are weight (aim at around 2kg for a 1 to 2 man tent, or 3kg if it’s a mountain tent), internal space (most 2 man tents are only really big enough for 1!) and wind performance (you don’t want your tent to collapse!). If you are on a budget then in the UK Vango is a good brand to look at. I have an old Spirit 100, it’s a fantastic tent and I picked it up for £80 on eBay. I’ve used it in 50mph winds on top of a mountain before, and although noisy, it stood firm. Coleman also make some decent well priced tents. If you live in the US then you are spoilt for choice! If money is no object then Terra Nova and Hilleberg are pretty hard to beat. I use a Terra Nova Ultra Quasar when I camp with my girlfriend or sometimes with another photographer, it is fantastic even in horrific weather. It cost me £450 though, so it wasn’t cheap in the slightest!

A warm sleeping bag is worth its weight, its wonderful being swallowed by a mass of down!

Sleeping Gear – Make sure you have a sleeping bag that is warm enough for the expected overnight temperatures. I would give a strong recommendation to Alpkit bags, if you can get hold of them. They are the best value bags out there. I have used my Skyehigh 1000 in temperatures which froze the water inside my tent solid! It’s not the lightest bag in the world at 1.8kg but it’s a great bit of luxury to have. In future for my summer camping I will be picking up a bag from Peter Hutchinson Designs to half the weight. Sleeping mats are just as important. I use thermarests, but you can now buy excellent inflatable mats from vango and alpkit for around £30. The cheapest of all is the rollup closed cell foam mat, but these are only good as a supplement to inflatable mats in my opinion! In the winter you may need 2 mats, good ground insulation is critical in the winter.

Rucksack – If you don’t care to much about the latest and greatest you can save a lot of money here by buying a second hand bag. I used an old lowepro bag that cost £40 on ebay for 4 years, and never had problems. I have since upgraded to an Osprey Aether which saves a bit of weight and carries a little better, but there isnt much in it!

Crackers, cheddar and salami, a frugal lunch, but when you've earned it nothing tastes better!

Food – You aren’t going to get luxury meals when you go camping, but food never tastes better than when you have earned it. A hot meal at night is great. I usually have noodles (from a Chinese supermarket), pasta (which is more of a pain to cook) or couscous (which is very very quick). If I am just doing an overnighter then I will sometimes carry dinner from the night before to reheat. Of course, if you want a hot meal then you will need a pan and stove. For a long time I used a simple lightweight aluminium pan and a ‘can stove’ which I made at home. It’s a great way to go and ultra cheap. The stove is made from aluminium coke/beer cans and burns meths. There are lots of designs online. It does take longer to heat the food that the gas stove (MSR pocket rocket) I use now, but it never let me down. For breakfasts I eat muesli. For lunches I usually have salami, cheese and crackers. For snacks I have nuts, dried fruit and sometimes chocolate. As a general rule I bring more food than I think I will need and I always manage to eat it all!

Water – Water can be a significant weight, if you are happy drinking from unpurified mountain streams then you may be able to save a couple of kilograms, but obviously there is a level of risk that you could get ill (I haven’t yet). To purify it you can ise iodine or chlorine, or you can bring a filter along. Please research different purification methods because they don’t necessarily make the water completely safe! I use empty plastic bottles as water containers.

Outdoor Clothing – This is a tricky one because photographers aren’t doing the same activity as most hikers/campers. Standing more or less in the same place for an hour in a biting wind to take a photo will mean you need more insulation than an active walker would! Most of the year you can get away with a baselayer, microfleece and waterproof shell to keep your top half warm, although you may need 2 fleeces! In the winter you will almost certainly need a down jacket (or down vest at the least) as well. Alpkit make cheap down jackets that are worth considering. Baselayer wise you can get away with almost anything that isnt cotton! I swear by merino wool now, but it is extremely expensive. You need a hat for sure, even in the summer, and in winter you will also need gloves and a scarf/buff. Trousers wise I use the same standard hiking trousers year round. I put fleece trousers underneath in the winter from time to time. Footwear is worth investing in. My Meindl Vacuums cost £160 but they have lasted 4 years or heavy abuse and are still going strong and have never let a drop of water in. You will need good hiking socks, wear lines socks as well if you are worried about blisters.

Other things you might need – Don’t forget first aid, toothbrush, something to do, eating utensils, a lighter, etc. Make sure you really figure out what you need. Don’t bring things that arent useful!

With EVERYTHING I needed for 4 days hiking and photography on my back. Space and weight are at a premium!

Camera Gear

Camera- You probably arent going to buy a new camera just to go camping but it might affect your future buying decisions! Obviously you don’t want to compromise image quality just because you are going camping. There may however be a significant weight difference between two cameras that take more or less the same quality of image. In my case there was a point where I could choose between a 5DmkII and a 1dsmkIII, apart from the price difference the lighter weight of the 5DmkII made more sense from a camping perspective.

Lenses – Less is more here. I usually only take a 17-40 and a 70-200, both f4 lenses. Faster f2.8 zooms might seem like a better choice but the weight difference could be significant. You might be wondering how I fill the gap between 40 and 70mm…..On the rare occasion where the old ‘foot zoom’ technique doesn’t work, I just shoot a panorama or vertical frames with the 70-200 and then crop to get the final shot. I don’t bring my 400mm because I rarely use it. If I am going to use it in 1/4 trips then it doesn’t warrant a place in my bag. That said I will bring it if I expect to b able to use it!

Tripod – Don’t compromise too much to save weight but really you should be looking at a sub 2kg tripod and a 500gram head. I use a Gitzo Explorer and a RRS BH40. It’s a lightweight combo that gives me massive flexibility in camera placement.

Extras – I am sure you can figure out what you need here, but its amazing where saving can be made. I actually left my camera pouch at home on a recent trip to Iceland. Instead I used my fleece hat with an added drawstring as a camera bag. It worked great and saved a massive 500g!!

Where to pitch your tent

Anyone with a level head on their shoulders can work out where to pitch a tent but think about the following things:

• Can you get the pegs in?(you cant set up your tent if you pegs wont go into the ground! Geodesic tents are better in this regard because they require fewer pegs to stay standing)
• Is the ground dry? (groundsheets should be waterproof but don’t test them unnecessarily). Don’t pitch in a dip that could fill with water overnight!
• Are you sheltered from the wind? (even on top of a mountain you may be able to find good shelter)
• Is the ground level? (if it isn’t make sure you set up the tent so that your toes point downhill, maximise your chances by looking for flat ground on the map before you set off!)
• Are you near your planned location?

This set of criteria might be hard to meet sometimes and you may need to compromise. However I have always managed to find a good pitch more or less where I expected to find one, although on a couple of occasions it has been tricky!

It might be easier than you think to find a good pitch, look for flat areas on the map!

Staple Tor is an iconic Tor on the western moor, just off the B3357. It’s striking granite stacks are amongst the best on Dartmoor and that, combined with its easy accessibility, makes it one of the favourite locations for photographers. Don’t let the number of images of this Tor put you off though, there is always plenty to shoot!

Staple Tor from King Tor with mist rolling in after sunset

How to get there

Staple Tor is about 300m north of the B3357 on the western side side of the moor towards Tavistock. If coming from the west then drive past the main Cox Tor Car park and stop at the car park which is a few hundred meters down the road to your left. If coming from the east then head up the hill past the Dartmoor in and you will see the parking spot on your right. From the car park you can see the tor itself with Middle Staple Tor a little bit closer to you. No doubt I wont have to spell out how to walk there, but it is very easy going! You will know when you have arrived because you will be surrounded by several massive granite stacks.

[map from google]

Photo Opportunities

There are an enormous number of potential shots at the tor in all directions in almost any light it really is that good. I am sure the images on this page will give you a feel of what is possible (don’t copy them, find you own shots!). I strongly recommend properly exploring the tor to give yourself a feel for the location and the many potential images that may be made. If you are lost for ideas this is a great location to keep it simple! The stacks of granite at Staple Tor create such striking silhouettes that you really can’t go wrong!

Staple Tor has a number of granite tors which can make excellent silhouettes

There is an excellent 360 degree view from Staple Tor. From here you can see the winding walkham valley to the north and west, Vixen Tor towards the south west and Brentor on the western horizon. Over my many visits to the Staple Tor, it has been rare that I havent been able to make something from the view.

Nearby to the north is Roos Tor, altogether harder to photography and less impressive, however it is still worth exploring given its proximity and there are good compositions to be found.

Roos Tor at sunrise in the summer. You can often see mist down in the valley.

To the south is Middle Staple Tor, which you passed on your way. I am yet to make a successful image of this tor, but it certainly is possible.

To the west is Cox Tor, a quarried Tor with very little potential for the photography. Similarly Great Mis Tor to the east poses considerable challenge when trying to find compositions, but certainly I have seen some nice images from here.

Notable pitfalls

Towards the south-west lies the radio mast at Hessary Tor.  In the winter at sunrise it is almost impossible to avoid the mast it if you wish to include the sun in your image.

To the west lies Cox Tor, for much of autumn and spring you will miss out on the last moments of sunset light, something to bear in mind. Similarly in the early and late summer Great Mis Tor will delay the light striking the Tor. Be sure to check the sunrise and sunset direction relative to these two Tors if you wish to capture the last moments of light.

More images of Staple Tor

Staple Tor is great to visit in the snow

Staple Tor with cirrus above long after sunset

Staple Tor is a great location for sunrise but be aware of the Hessary Tor mast!

An example of Web Sharpening:

This image compares 2 sharpening methods hopefully you can see a small difference!

Obviously both sharpened versions are considerably better than the unsharpened web image. A more worthwhile comparison comes when comparing the basic Unsharp Mask (USM) application and the advanced method. In short the benefits are as follows:

• The details are finer and cleaner, USM seems a little ‘muddy’ in comparison. The shadow details are more noticeable
• The colour is fractionally better
• Selective sharpening has been used to remove halos on the horizon

Overall the differences between the images are small but tangible. The advanced web sharpening method gives the web image that finishing touch that can make all the difference. Even side by side the differences are small (I’m not attempting to fake the reults here!) but these improvements are consistent across all images and in images with significant fine shadow detail the improvement is more significant.

Download the Advanced Sharpening For Web action set

Of course when you are outputting your photos for the web the last thing you want is to do is go through some complex sharpening process. For that reason I have produced an action set for free download! The Advanced Sharpening For Web action set was produced in Photoshop CS3 but it does seem to be compatible with other versions of Photoshop and certainly later versions! Unfortunately it does not work with foreign versions of Photoshop due to the file renaming.

Download: Advanced Resize and Sharpen for Web

How to use the action set to sharpen your images

Using the action set on a basic level should be very easy.

• Open your full size image.
• Save a copy of it if you want to make sure that you don’t overwrite the image with a small web resolution version (and yes I have done this several times!)
• Open the action palette and select the output image size you wish for you image (Note that the predefined sizes are split into width and height categories)
• Press ‘play’ to launch the action. You image should now be resized and sharpened
• If your image is over sharpened then reduce the visibility of the sharpening layers to taste.
• Finally flatten the image and ‘Save for web’ (I suggest a jpeg compression level of 60-75% for fast loading with acceptable compression levels)

If you want to get the very best out of your image then you should consider sharpening different areas of the image by different amounts. This can be achieved by painting on the layer masks. This isn’t the place to talk about layer masks in depth so hopefully you already know what they are and how to use them! When it comes to deciding which areas to sharpen more or less I would suggest you:

• Remove/reduce halos around high contrast edges
• Remove/reduce the appearance of artifacting or textures that shouldn’t be there
• Remove sharpening on areas that should be smooth such as skies
• Increase sharpening on areas that still aren’t well defined. I will often increase the sharpening on water and cloud details for example.

How it works

I can’t really tell you how it works but rather explain the process! Here is a step-by-step of how the sharpen for web action works (roughly and not ordered in exactly the same way as the action!) if you want to get into the real nitty gritty then have a look ‘inside’ the action!

1. The image is resized to 1.66 times the desired output size. This is a critical step, for some reason 1.66 seems to work better than any other ratio!
2. The image is duplicated and sharpened
3. The sharpened image is duplicated and sharpened!
4. The image is resized to its final output size
5. A layer mask is applied to the sharpened layer
6. A layer mask is applied to the double sharpened layer. This layer mask is made mid grey to effectively reduce its opacity to 50%
7. The sharpened layers are set to luminosity mode to reduce/remove any colour changes introduced by the sharpening process.
8. The colour space is changed to RGB to ensure that the colours display correctly on the web.

How to create new sizes

You may find that the size that you like to output to is not available. In that case you may need to modify the action set to create a new size option.

• Click on the web resize folder in the actions palette
• Click on the new action icon at the bottom of the layer palette
• Give your action a name (I suggest following the naming convention)
• Click Record
• Play the action ‘Part 1 -ignore’ on the actions palette
• Resize the image to 1.66 times your output size. For example if you want you image to finish 100px wide then click image>image size (set to bicubic) and set the size to 166px wide
• Play the action ‘Part 1 -ignore’ on the actions palette
• Resize the image to your desired output size. So for the example above that would be 100px wide.

Who came up with the idea?

The idea is not my own, but I have certainly adapted it quite a bit. I believe a similar method was made well known by Marc Adamus, but the specific ratio of 1.66 is the idea of another photographer whose name I can’t remember (it was a long time ago!). Since reading about the method I developed it based on my experience using it and feedback from other photographers on the best process.  I won’t take any credit at all for the idea, but hopefully the action set is appreciated!

Links!

The action set is free but I am keen to share it with other photographers. If you have downloaded the action it would be great if you could link back to this page to help other people find it!

Sharpening for print.

This method can’t really be used to sharpen images for print. If that is your goal I personally recommend the use of the unsharp mask (USM) and smart sharpen filters. Although many articles on the internet and in books recommend sharpening an image taking into account print size and viewing distance I personally recommend that you sharpen your images to make the most of fine details. In my opinion it is far better to sharpen your images for print so that they look highly detailed on close inspection, and don’t display halos. For that reason you should use a  sharpening radius of less than 2 although usually a radius of 1 or lower is best!