Saturday 28th October 2023. Fingle Bridge, Dartmoor, Devon
Course location: This Dartmoor in Autumn photography course will be held in the wooded Teign valley at Fingle Bridge and open moor near Chagford, in Dartmoor National Park, Devon.
Times: 10am to 5pm
Price: £100 per person.
What this Dartmoor in Autumn Photography Workshop Entails
This Dartmoor in Autumn photography course is a day of landscape photography on Dartmoor’s open moors and in some of its most beautiful woodlands. We’ll be photographing here just as the trees’ autumn colours are coming up to their peak, and the moors are developing their truly wild and rugged wintry appearance.
The day will begin with photography in beautiful woodlands along the banks of the River Teign, a location rich in beech trees, which turn a stunning golden orange in late October. In the afternoon we’ll move to the open moors near Chagford, to visit the prehistoric Scorhill circle of standing stones and the wild marshlands that adjoin it.
What I’ll be teaching
This Dartmoor in Autumn photography course will aim to teach the following skills:
● The ability to spot potential image compositions among the trees, along the river banks and on the open moors, composing and shooting both wider views and details, grabbing little vignettes that together build up a story about the beauty of the scene;
● Control and 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);
● How to 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’. I’ll also teach use of 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;
● Such techniques as the use of slow shutter speeds to blur moving water, and of filters will be covered.
Participants should have at least an understanding of what shutter speed and lens aperture mean, plus a knowledge of how to operate their own camera in order to get at least basic images. Beyond this, the main requirements are enthusiasm, an open mind and a readiness to learn!
Note: Since we’ll be working outdoors, what we are able to do during the day is very weather-dependent. Weather conditions may make it necessary to vary the itinerary.
