Saturday 20th May 2023
Course locations: Woodlands along the Barle River (near Tarr Steps); Winsford Hill (near Dulverton); Valley of Rocks (near Lynton). Exmoor National Park.
Times: 2pm – sunset (approx 9pm)
Price: £100 per person.
Our Exmoor in Spring course is an afternoon and evening of landscape photography in the stunning landscapes of Exmoor National Park. We’ll begin the day in the riverside woodlands along the River Barle, starting off at the prehistoric Tarr Steps. At this time of May these woodlands should be vibrantly green with fresh new foliage, and so should create some wonderful photo opportunities.
We’ll follow this with a visit to nearby Winsford Hill and its wonderful views across the deep and very steep Punchbowl valley, plus the hilltop’s wind-gnarled hawthorn trees and beautiful orchids.
The evening will be spent at the Valley of Rocks, on the coast just outside Lynton. We’ll be here for its superb cliff views and its fantastic sunset setting.
What I’ll be teaching
This Exmoor in spring photography course will aim 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.
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
