Stonehenge at Sunset
On the way back from Cornwall, Stonehenge was too enticing a detour to pass up. A night in a little roadside motel about a mile away from the ancient rocks allowed for easy access at sunset and a quick trip up the road to be first in line for the morning opening.
I’ve met some people that dismiss Stonehenge’s value as a destination, but I couldn’t help but be impressed. Seeing so many photos of a place can rob it of its majesty or diminish a visitor’s sense of wonder upon seeing the real deal, but that didn’t seem to happen to me. I mean, these are some huge rocks! I’m not sure how you couldn’t be sucked in by this ancient wonder.
The brilliant sky behind the silhouetted stones was shot was taken from across the field outside the fence with a long lens. As seems to be a trend with me lately, this is a composite of a few shots – just a vertical panorama in this case. I could have done this in one shot, (and I think I probably did on other frames), but this one comes out at a higher resolution than I would have gotten otherwise, so if anyone wants to buy a Stonehenge-sized print of this one, it should turn out nicely!
St. Michael’s Mount Panorama
This will be the third Photo of the Day in a row that goes to St. Michael’s Mount and that’s just because the place is so cool!
It’s a castle on an island, just off the coast and it’s the stuff of fantasy novels. ‘Nuff said.
This shot was a bit more difficult to put together than most panoramas. I wanted to try to capture the bright sunset that was occurring in the right-hand side of the shot while getting the blue of the ever-darkening evening that was happening on the left.
The range of stops in the whole scene was too wide for one exposure, so I did a bracket of five shots for each component shot of the panorama in order to be able to catch all the lights and darks and worried about how to put it together later.
When it came time to put everything together, I had all the component parts I wanted, but I really wasn’t sure what was going to be the best way to assemble it. I tried using the stitching software to put the HDR side of things together while simultaneously stitching together the panorama. Nope, it would have been far too easy for it to work in one, nicely-automated process. I’ve used that technique with a small degree of success in the past, but it was with a slightly more static scene inside a church. No moving water, shifting clouds or changing light to deal with.
On the next attempt, I tried to put together individual HDR shots and then stitch them together. That didn’t work because the lighting and colouring of the HDR shots came out too differently from one another for them to seamlessly blend. This occurred despite using all the same settings for every shot in the HDR processing. When processing HDR shots, I usually take a more manual, hands-on approach to avoid it all turning into a glowing surrealistic mess, but I didn’t think that was feasible with a panorama. There would have been too many differences between each image again.
So, the next step I took was to process five different panoramas, one for each exposure bracket, then see if I could layer them together. This was what ended up producing the final shot, but it came with its own big challenge.
I only ended up using two of the exposures in the end. It was enough to catch the full range and it minimized my work a bit because the problem with using this technique is that the stitching software stitched each panorama differently. When stacked on top of each other, the differences were a bit more than slight. Good thing we have the handy dandy align-layers feature in Photoshop to help us through!
But that only got us part of the way down the road. After all that, I was still left with a tedious bit for retouching when it came to finishing off the alignment and blending of the two images. With a bit of patience, it was eventually finished off for a decent result.
Click the image for a larger view:
St. Michael’s Mount Causeway
Today we have another shot of St. Michael’s Mount, this time from the causeway leading to the island soon after the tide had receded enough to allow for foot traffic.
We we took the boat over to the mount in the morning, there was only the faintest hint of the causeway below the choppy surface waters, but only a few hours later and we were walking back a few metres below where we formerly floated.
As soon as the causeway’s cobbles were exposed to the sun, a steady stream of people slipped, stumbled and stepped lightly from shore to shore so you can imagine that this shot took a bit of patience (both pre- and post-processing) to get to its present state. It only proved possible thanks to the tourist removal trick.
I combined that trick with shooting a panorama of the scene to get a wider view than my equipped lens would allow. I aimed to catch the sweep of the causeway as it approached the island and I think I succeeded there.
Click the image for a larger view:
St. Michael’s Mount – Photo of the Day
Today’s photo is another from Cornwall, this time, the magical St. Michael’s Mount.
Only accessible vie boat or by the causeway when the tide is low, this beautiful National Trust Property off the south coast of Cornwall hosts a castle, a small port and a few shops and cafés that serve the location’s many visitors.
The island is accessed from the small town of Marazion, but this sunset/dusk shot comes from further East along the coast. I chose to move away from the relatively featureless coastline near Marazion to be able to get some foreground interest and these rocks fit the bill perfectly.
I did a 30-second exposure to flatten out the ocean right when the sky and the lights of the distant towns are balanced. Mother nature took care of the rest with a gorgeous sky.
Photo of the Day: Golitha Falls
Today’s image is another from Cornwall, specifically, a perfect spot called Golitha Falls.
As tranquil as could be, this perfect forest full of gnarled, moss-covered trees at the edge of Bodmin Moor is home to a babbling stretch of the river Fowey. It’s a short walk, but every view along the way is picture perfect.
This shot, though it may not look it, is actually a panoramic stitch of about 15 images. I actually expected it to come out more horizontal than vertical, but this crop worked best of all. The scene really did sweep around me, but the resulting panorama doesn’t necessarily capture that. That’s not to say I’m unhappy with the shot. Far from it!
To get it, I did have to perch somewhat precariously on the edge of a rock, but the risk proved worthwhile.
Overcast days are good for shots like these. With less light on the scene, it’s easier to get a longer shutter speed to blur the motion of the water and you also avoid any nasty hot spots on the ground.
Photo of the Day: Godrevy Lighthouse
I’ve been back from Cornwall for a few days now, but unfortunately, I haven’t had much time to go through my photos. A few people have been prodding me to see some images, so I’ve picked one out that should satisfy folks for a little while at least.
This lighthouse sits off the edge of Godrevy Point in Cornwall. Nearby beaches are surfer friendly and local, wannabe stuntmen find high rock outcrops at high tide and launch themselves into the ocean. That’s all a bit more cheery than the photo below. I was going for a bit of a dark, Shutter Island feel with this image and I think the blue of dusk combined with the ominous clouds manage to give the jagged rocks and distant lighthouse the right mood.
Perspectives on Poverty
Duncan McNicholl, a member of Engineers Without Borders, has begun worthwhile project. He calls it Perspectives on Poverty and its aim is to challenge the way impoverished people are photographed and perceived.
He works in Malawi and has grown tired of the stereotypical portrayals of impoverished third-world citizens. His aim is to photograph those around him in two ways: once at their best and once playing the part of the downtrodden African we’ve come to see so often in the images soliciting charitable donations.
McNicholl says, “I want to bring to light some of the different assumptions we make about a person, especially when we see an image of ‘poverty’ from rural Africa.”
The image he has on of one of his subjects attempting and failing to look serious is worth a look by itself.
Photo Links for 30-03-2010
A few links to various photo-related topics have caught my eye in the last few days:
- Photo radar has an article with numerous handy tips for aspiring street photographers.
- £500 and a lot of ingenuity can get you some photographs from space good enough to make NASA blush a little.
- Stunning macro shots of sleeping insects covered in morning dew.
- The Sistene Chapel is usually teeming with tourists and finding peace among the throngs is a challenge. This 360-degree panorama of Michaelangelo’s masterpiece is the next best thing (the page has background music).
- Reuters has a slideshow with before-and-after shots of various world landmarks unilluminated during last weekend’s Earth Hour. Not to be outdone are the shots at the Big Picture.
POTD: Desert Sand
The dunes within the dunes of Zagora are here lit with a flashlight in the dead of night. The fascinating textures ripple across the larger dunes to form miniature landscapes.
POTD: Marrakech Souks
Light beams filter through slats to illuminate the smoky air of the Marrakech Souks where you can buy everything under the Moroccan sun. The smoke from grills cooking succulent meats mingle with the exhausts of motorbikes speeding through alleys far too narrow for vehicular traffic to create a hazy aura in the market.
POTD: Football in Fez
If the city of Fez originated in a design, it was designed to confuse. Each road shoots off into another narrower alley that branches into ever more constricting passages to eventually lead a new visitor into a state of bewilderment.
Couple that with the general pummeling your senses take at the hands of the masses of people and their wares and the city takes on the character of a dream.
In a city like this, open spaces are a rarity. For kids that want to have a game of soccer, there aren’t a lot of wide areas where a game can take place. So, they make do and you get a scene like today’s photo where kids kick around a ball in while being closely hemmed in by the walls of one of the medina’s wider avenues.
POTD: Chefchaouen Women
As with this recent shot, today’s photo of the day comes from Chefchaouen, Morocco.
Chasing the light through the narrow, blue alleys was good fun and sometimes resulted in nice backlit shots like this that give a nice rim light to the people. I love both the weathered walls and weathered, character filled faces.
POTD: Koubbat as-Sufara Crypt
This shot is from an enormous crypt located below the Koubbat as-Sufara in Meknes. Though it might look like a dungeon, it was actually used for grain storage.
This is another of the images lit with multiple speedlite bursts in multiple shots. Using the lights in this way ended up giving a lot more depth and texture to the shot than I might have gotten otherwise.
POTD: Volubilis Ruins
This is the last of my little experiments at Volubilis of lighting the ruins with a number of bursts from a speedlite.
This one was taken during an overcast day which allowed me to stop down and overpower the ambient light with my flash. Again, a moody, atmospheric image is the result.
I took a number of other images at the ruins, but no more of this type. I do, however, have another of these multiple-flash composite shots for tomorrow from another location.
POTD: Volubilis at Sunset
As with yesterday’s photo of the day, today’s was taken at the Roman ruins Volubilis, Morocco using the technique of lighting various areas with a speedlite and then compositing them together in Photoshop.
This one turned out even more surreal than the last. It’s difficult to visualize what whole will look like when you can only see a part at a time, so half the fun of creating a shot like this is seeing it come together.
POTD: Volubilis Roman Ruins
It would have been easy to let a magical sunset do all the lighting work at the Roman ruins of Volubilis in Morocco. The light was as perfect as could ask for, but I felt like I wanted to do something a bit more.
So, in addition to the light of the sunset, I decided to light the ruins myself. I ran around with a speedlite popping of flashes and after assembling about 20 or 30 shots in Photoshop, we have a slightly surreal view of the place that couldn’t have been seen otherwise.
I’m actually quite pleased with this little light-painting experiment. The scene takes on a dramatic, strange feel that wouldn’t have been there had I not run around like a crazy person in the few minutes that the light was perfect.
POTD: Ait Benhaddou Star Trails
Perfectly-preserved Ait Benhaddou and its lack of electricity made an ideal location to try out a half-hour exposure to capture some star trails.
The Moroccan village keeps its UNESCO world heritage status by maintaining a way of life similar to what was present hundreds of years ago when the group of forts was built. That means no electricity lights up the buildings at night. There are a couple of lights visible in this image, but one is either a lamp or a candle and I think one is a flashlight. At a half hour exposure, they look like someone snuck a generator inside the complex.
This shot points directly North, so the stars appear to revolve around Polaris to create a nice swirling effect in the sky.
POTD: Medersa Bou Inania
It took me a little while to warm up to Meknes. It wasn’t immediately apparent to me what it had going for it that might be different from the other cities I had already visited.
Eventually, it revealed its charms and one of those was the Medersa Bou Inania where intricate stone carvings hosted a gorgeous dance of sunbeams one fine morning.
POTD: Blue Chefchaouen Alley
After a couple weeks of travel, Morocco’s many medinas start to blend together. The claustrophobia-inducing alleys are never dull, but who doesn’t like a bit of variety?
A trip to Chefchaouen provides just such a change. The obvious difference between the old town of hilly Chefchaouen and its larger cousins is the sky-blue paint that covers nearly every wall of the city.
This ubiquitous hue gives the city a special visual character, but another crucial difference is the greater sense of calm that tends to reign in these hills. Less hassling happens here and when it does occur, it’s less intense than in the more populous centres.
The old cities in Morocco are always a treat for a photographer who’s willing to look and wait for the light. As in this photo, sunbeams sometimes pierce the defenses of the buildings and illuminate the narrow roads creating dramatic scenes of light and shade.
POTD: Fez Tannery Worker
Considering just how popular it is, the tanneries can be difficult to find without help if you’ve just arrived in town. Fez truly is a maze, but if you have a couple days and a reasonably good sense of direction, you’ll be able to fumble your way to most locations without aid.
Amid the labyrinthine alleys of the city, a few clues will let you know you’re getting close to the tanneries. First, you’ve probably been heading downhill for a while (the tanneries are near the river), the smell (pigeon feces and cow urine are major components in the chemical stew used to treat the hides), and lastly, the people who will offer to scam you of your every last dirham guide you to this major tourist spot.
The tanneries will overwhelm you. The legendary smell will knock you off your feet, but shop owners and guides will provide you with a fresh sprig of mint as an antidote to the odour. The sights, sounds and feel of the place are just as piquant. Multicoloured vats of chemicals and dyes host rough-and-ready workers sacrificing some of their lifespan for a the job of sloshing around in noxious potions to treat the skins that will eventually turn into leather.
Largely unchanged for hundreds of years, the history of the place is practically tangible. The methods used on the hides here are the same as they were in the middle ages, and aside from a few modern touches, you could swear you’ve stepped back in time
Most tourists and travellers experience the tanneries from above. Guides will lead you into leather shops overflowing with handbags and poufs, up some stairs and onto a balcony that overlooks the vats. After getting their fill of the vista, visitors are then expected to either tip their guide or purchase something from the shops (and given the Moroccan penchant for the hard sell, consider yourself to have done well if you escape without an unwanted handbag).
This particular photo, however, was clearly not taken from above. If you know exactly which alley to enter, you can make your way quite close to the entrance of the tanneries. You’ll soon be confronted by a manager who may or may not be willing to guide you through the site. If you’re going to give it a try, I would recommend only keeping as much as you’re willing to pay in your wallet and no more. When you’ve already paid your agreed price, they’ll keep trying to extract more cash from you, but if you have no more to give, the haggling ends quickly. Just show them your empty wallet!
POTD: Moroccan Sunrise
I’ve been sitting on my photos from Morocco for a while now, but I had a good reason. I was in a group slideshow exhibition last week and I wanted to unveil the images there, but now that it’s over, I’m free to show them off a bit.
This particular picture is a sunrise scene shot in the dunes near Zagora. I took an overnight trip to the edge of the dunes where you can get a taste of the Moroccan desert if you’re short on time. Earlier that week, I had visited the impressive dunes of Erg Chebbi that happen to reside at the paper edge of the Sahara, so this sandy trek near Zagora wasn’t quite as impressive as it could have been had I not previously visited larger dunes.
Nevertheless, it made for some fun scenes to capture like this shot of the sun rising over the mountains while our guides searched for stray tourists who had wandered into the dunes in the hopes of having a slightly more authentic desert experience.
Travel Photographer of the Year 2009 Results
To add to yesterday’s post of year-end ‘best of’ galleries, the results of the Travel Photographer of the Year 2009 competition have been announced.
The overall winner is G.M.B. Akash, a Bangladeshi photographer who was unanimously voted the outstanding entrant. I’m particularly entranced by his shipbreaking series, more of which can be seen on his site.
The judges waxed about his work: “His two portfolios demonstrate an ability to work with movement and a range of different light. They are vibrant and engaging whilst still managing to tell stories about the people and places in his images.” I can’t say I disagree with them – the images on display are great.
I’m also particularly fond of many of the images that won/were commended in the Natural Wonders categories. The images capturing wildlife in the Arctic and Antarctic very much caught my eye, particularly Swiss photographer Daisy Gilardini’s black and white images.
One of the single images that stood out for me was Poras Chaudhary‘s third shot – the Indian crowd swarming in an explosion of multi-coloured dust at the Festival of Colours. It has the feeling of being a painting and while the colours are heavily saturated, they don’t feel overwhelming in this image.
POTD: Tyn Church
A classic view of Prague’s Tyn Church taken from the top of the Old Town Hall.
POTD: St. Nicholas’ Church Interior
Even more grand than its exterior, the interior of St. Nicholas’ Church in Prague’s lesser town is designed to impress. An example of counter-reformation architecture, ever square inch of the interior is ornate and aimed at overwhelming your senses.
Darby Sawchuk is a Canadian-born photographer who currently resides in Manchester, England. He has travelled to over 40 countries and is always adding more to the list. He creates stock for multiple agencies and is available for assignments.
+44 0790 992 8932
