Photography in Exmoor’s ancient woodlands, along its rivers, on its open moors and on its coast
Photography on Exmoor’s hills and coastline
For this Exmoor landscape photography bespoke course would you like to:
- Photograph the prehistoric Tarr Steps, a unique stone bridge over the River Barle?
- Photograph riverside woodlands and the flowing streams in one of Exmoor’s deep, hidden valleys?
- Photograph on one of Exmoor’s open moorland areas, looking down into one of most magnificent, yet least known, valleys?
- Photograph both the coastal Valley of Rocks, plus the stunning sunset view from here?
If so, then this day out may well be for you.
What the locations and photography consist of
The itinerary will be a little different depending on whether you choose a half-day (up to four hours) or full-day (up to seven hours) trip.
Half-day: Best run during the afternoon and into the evening, we’ll start with some woodland, waterfall and river photography at Watersmeet, near Lynmouth. In the evening we’ll head over to the Valley of Rocks, near Lynton, to photograph the rock formations here, the coastal views and (hopefully!) the sunset.
Full-day: We’ll start the day at Tarr Steps, near Dulverton, where we’ll photograph not only this famous prehistoric river bridge, but also the river itself and the surrounding forest. From here we’ll head to Winsford Hill, an area of high open moorland, with stunning views of the Punchbowl, one of Exmoor’s steepest valleys. The day will end at the Valley of Rocks, near Lynton, where we’ll photograph the rock formations, coastal views and (hopefully!) the sunset.
What you will learn about
This Exmoor photography course aims to teach the following skills:
● How to spot potential image compositions among the ‘chaos’ of the landscape, composing and shooting both wider views and details;
● Controlling and making use of the balance between shutter speed and lens aperture to gain the best exposure, and to control depth of field (ie the amount of the image that is sharply in focus);
● Use some of the camera’s most important features, such as semi-manual modes, in particular shutter-priority and aperture-priority, in order to help you to get away from ‘auto-everything’, as well as the ISO settings, image histogram and exposure compensation;
● Executing the image, using positioning, perspective, focus control, use of light, and lens focal length to create simple, strong compositions.
Full-day or Half-day?
As described above, the itinerary possible varies depending on your choice of a half-day or full-day trip. Naturally, a full-day makes it possible to photograph at more sites.
A half-day course will give you roughly a four-hour trip, most of which will consist of photography, though there will be some tuition time and time travelling between sites.
A full-day provides a seven hour trip, again consisting mostly of photography time, but interspersed with some tuition and time travelling between sites.
See the prices below as part of making your choice.
Prices
Half-day (up to four hours): £280.00 for 1-4 people, and £70 for each additional person;
Full-day (seven hours): £380.00 for 1-4 people, and £100 for each additional person.
What you will need
The camera equipment you’ll need to bring is simply what is useful for general landscape photography. If you have a DSLR or mirrorless camera with several lenses then a focal length range of about 17-300mm will be fine. If you have just the one zoom lens, or a compact camera, these are fine too – you’ll still be able to take great photos without having to worry about changing lens!
If you have any close-up equipment bring this, though it is not essential. Similarly, if you have any filters bring these too, though again they are not essential.
Please bring a tripod – it will be needed for photography in the woods and at sunset. If you don’t have one please let me know as I may be able to lend you one.
Please make sure your camera battery/ies is/are fully charged, and that there is lots of space on your memory card(s).
Be sure to wear good walking shoes – most of the paths we’ll be walking on are in good condition, but this is Exmoor nonetheless, so the ground is not always smooth. Also bring plenty of weather-proofing for both yourself and your camera gear.
You will need to bring your own food and drink, as there will be few places on our route where it will be possible to buy much.
Facilities
There is a good pay-and-display car park at Tarr Steps, though it is a steep downhill walk from there to the Steps. There is a small free car park on Winsford Hill. There are also pay-and-display car parks at Watersmeet and the Valley of Rocks.
There are public toilets at the Tarr Steps and Valley of Rocks car parks, as well as in Lynmouth and Lynton.
As mentioned above, there will be few places to buy bood along our route, although it will be possible to stop in Lynton or Lynmouth, if needed.
A weather note
The entire length of this trip, whether half-day or full-day, will be spent out in the open, so please be prepared for rain showers.
Some flexibility regarding the scheduling may be needed. If in the final few days before the event we have a severe weather forecast for the planned day then it may be necessary to reschedule the event, hopefully for must one or perhaps two days later. Please try to include this flexibility when making your travel plans.
The course location
The map below shows the location for Tarr Steps, our initial meeting point for a full-day event.