Ilkley Moor
12th April 2015
I had a chance opportunity to visit Ilkley Moor and without much preparation on the best locations for photography I stopped at the Cow and Calf car park and took a walk.
A quick check on the weather forecast suggested an hour or so of light before sunset so I went searching for compositions. The problem with unprepared landscaping is knowing where to start. There is always the temptation to keep walking to the next location or believing that a better picture can be gained that bit further along.
The most successful shoots tend to start with some research. This can be done easily these days by a picture search on the net and by using apps to understand the direction of the light. Some might believe that picture searching locations is cheating or even plagiarism and to a certain extent I can see their point. From my perspective the research adds to the pre-visualisation process which is best described as having an objective for the end result. It means pre-selecting a location, waiting for the best light and trying to put my on interpretation on the subject.
The other way of achieving this, and my preferred approach, is to research a location through repeated visits and by testing out compositions and different lighting conditions. Unfortunately, whilst more satisfying, it takes an enormous amount of time and doesn't fit with full time work and other commitments!
A further perspective, which I applied on Ilkley Moor, is not to worry about outputs and to just enjoy the new location experience. Using this approach the gain comes from being outdoors, perhaps seeing something new or interesting, or seeing some great lighting conditions. Of course, all these things are possible without the need for a camera but I do believe it is the photography that provides the motivation to explore new locations.
These are the results from my visit to Ilkley Moor. I had to wait quite a time for the light to break through some heavy cloud. One of the most interesting features was all the names carved into the rocks above Ilkley, some going back more than a 100 years:
And whilst waiting for the light I picked out the these colours in the Cow and Calf quarry wall:
A quick check on the weather forecast suggested an hour or so of light before sunset so I went searching for compositions. The problem with unprepared landscaping is knowing where to start. There is always the temptation to keep walking to the next location or believing that a better picture can be gained that bit further along.
The most successful shoots tend to start with some research. This can be done easily these days by a picture search on the net and by using apps to understand the direction of the light. Some might believe that picture searching locations is cheating or even plagiarism and to a certain extent I can see their point. From my perspective the research adds to the pre-visualisation process which is best described as having an objective for the end result. It means pre-selecting a location, waiting for the best light and trying to put my on interpretation on the subject.
The other way of achieving this, and my preferred approach, is to research a location through repeated visits and by testing out compositions and different lighting conditions. Unfortunately, whilst more satisfying, it takes an enormous amount of time and doesn't fit with full time work and other commitments!
A further perspective, which I applied on Ilkley Moor, is not to worry about outputs and to just enjoy the new location experience. Using this approach the gain comes from being outdoors, perhaps seeing something new or interesting, or seeing some great lighting conditions. Of course, all these things are possible without the need for a camera but I do believe it is the photography that provides the motivation to explore new locations.
These are the results from my visit to Ilkley Moor. I had to wait quite a time for the light to break through some heavy cloud. One of the most interesting features was all the names carved into the rocks above Ilkley, some going back more than a 100 years:
And whilst waiting for the light I picked out the these colours in the Cow and Calf quarry wall: