west sussex portraits personal journal - West Sussex Portrait Photographer

Misty Winter Woodland Photography in West Sussex

Lindsay Dobson — Sat, 30 Nov 2024 13:43:49 +0000

Woodland photography is something I’ve always wanted to try. No two scenes will ever be the same, trees and their surroundings evolve with the seasons and the passing of time. In the last few years other priorities have often stood in the way of personal photography time, so my woodland outings are a real treat. On the few occasions (probably half a dozen) that I’ve photographed a woodland, I soon came to realise that it’s a lot more challenging than I’d thought!

I live in the far south of England, a few miles from the seaside town of Worthing. West Sussex is a beautiful part of the country, very green with plenty of picturesque villages and market towns (and a lovely coastline). Woodland in my immediate locality tends to be mixed deciduous - of the distinctly cluttered and messy kind. I’m often envious of photographers who have access to locations like the Peak District, the Lake District, or the Scottish Lochs. In those places the scenery is breathtaking and shows nature at its most unspoiled. Though I’ve been to those places over the years, I’m hoping that one day I’ll get to photograph those parts. But for now it’s my local woodland which is about a five minute walk from my front door. The local Arboretum about 45 minutes away is another appealing location.

These images were taken in 2020 – I can’t believe how long it’s taken me to look at them! I knew there would be a heavy early morning mist and I wasn’t going to miss a rare chance to get some shots. Mist adds so much depth and atmosphere to woodland photography. Suddenly backgrounds aren’t quite so cluttered and we’re able to isolate subjects far more easily than if the air were clear.

One of the exercises I do with my students is to remind them to be purposeful. Always have an aim in mind when you go out on a personal photography excursion. If I have a student with me the aim is for each of us to capture about half a dozen images which would look good printed and framed. Perhaps because of my age I live in the world of print. A photograph comes alive when expertly printed to the right paper type and framed with the right frame.

Our frame choices can completely change the look of an image, as you’ll see from the mockups below. These are low resolution so you won’t be able to see as much detail as you normally would, but you’ll get a good idea of what I’m talking about. Incidentally these gorgeous frames are the ones I use in my portrait and pet photography business. They include limed woods, hand painted swept and tray frames, simple gallery frames and classic metallic finishes.

The mist was so thick that I lost my way a couple of times. This was a strange feeling given that I’d walked around this woodland hundreds of times over the years. In the end I just followed the perimeter until I found a way out, but even that threw me. It was a strangely disconnecting experience, but in a good way. If you want to truly escape from the stresses of life, go out on a misty morning – you’ll become invisible!

I do miss the winters we had decades ago, when the frost turns our woodland into a winter wonderland. I can remember fabulous crystal formations hanging from every tree, which would build day on day. We rarely have frosts now in the deep South and they tend to be short lived. The bright golden winter days of old are a rarity. Nowadays it’s mostly dark, drab, rather depressing weather sometimes with no usable light for weeks on end. I find that I end up postponing shoots quite often in wintertime now, often more than once. The extent to which I’ve seen the seasons change in such a short space of time is frightening. I can’t imagine what our landscape will be like in as little as a decade. The great thing about photography is that we can document all of these changes and cycles and create an invaluable and true record for future generations. That’s something AI will never be able to achieve.

On recreational outings it’s important not to feel burdened or weighed down by your equipment. Thankfully these days we have so many small but capable choices. My favourite cameras for personal outings include my Sony A7C, my Panasonic G100, and my Sony ZV-1.

Photographing Vintage and Sports Cars | Storrington and District Classic & Sports Enthusiasts Club

Lindsay Dobson — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 15:53:45 +0000

Feeling down? Having a tough week? Have you got an old car or a sports car of some sort? Or are you a car enthusiast who simply likes looking at them? If you can answer yes to any of those questions then you might want to join our local (and thoroughly fantastic) Storrington and District Classic and Sportscar Enthusiasts - better known as SADCASE.

SADCASE hosts some lovely events throughout the year at scenic venues in West Sussex from village greens, seafronts, farms - and arguably one of the best open-air museums in the country. Each month throughout the summer SADCASE holds an evening gathering at Amberley Heritage Museum. If you haven’t been to the museum then you really must go - it’s like taking a step back into our industrial and engineering history. The setting itself is beautiful - the museum is nestled in the rolling hills of the South Downs. There’s also a cafe and plenty of seating.

Basking in the warm glow of a summer evening, surrounded by history and a large gathering of cars, is nothing short of marvellous in my book. You’ll see cars you may never have seen before, and you’ll meet their friendly and knowledgeable owners. Car clubs can sometimes be daunting and some are even a little snobby, but you won’t find that at SADCASE.

The August Amberley meeting gave me my first opportunity to write a blog post for what seems like an age. Life has thrown us some challenges and the last couple of years have been tough. It comes to most of us in late middle age - elderly parents can need high levels of care and our own health can start to tax us. Getting some much-needed escapism is very much on the cards. I met friends old and new and I saw some thoroughly unique cars. Taking my own car was a great excuse to give it a pleasant run from Storrington across the rolling Sussex countryside.

In terms of photos, you don’t need fancy equipment at a car event like this. Your subjects are static, the light is good enough and any sort of camera will do. What is important though is your focal length and composition.

The cars are spread all around the grounds and I soon discovered that I needed a wider focal length than expected. I started taking pictures with my little micro 4/3 camera (Panasonic G100) and a 34 mm equivalent lens (Olympus 17mm f1.8). This is a favourite focal length for general walkabout, street, and travel photography. But it was a bit too tight a lot of the time on this particular evening. For that reason I switched to my phone where the main lens is equivalent to 28 mm - this was perfect and most of the pictures below are taken with the phone. I’ve also included a small handful of images taken at September’s event at the same location.

I always shoot RAW as this gives me the ability to precisely correct the light balance if I need to as well as pulling as much detail as possible out of shadow and highlight areas. The latter is particularly important if the light is sunny. Sunshine creates quite a lot of contrast within the scene and shooting JPEG would push you into making a determination between preserving shadow detail or (most likely) highlight detail. My phone is capable of true RAW capture, so it’s a great tool for this kind of photography. Low late summer sun results in warm saturated colours which add depth to an image, so use that to your advantage.

I’ve shared some car photography tips in other blog posts, but in general do try to avoid taking mugshots of the cars! Instead try to inject some character into your photos. Experiment with wide and tight shots and see how you can use the environment to add interest or storytelling to your pictures. What can you include in the scene to add narrative, or visual interest? Foreground interest will help to elevate an otherwise ordinary shot, so experiment with ‘layering’ – foliage is good for this, as are people. Don’t forget to photograph any details you might spot, such as interesting badges, lights, or wheel caps.

Amberley Museum is a perfect setting for these cars because the backdrops are so historic and relevant to many of them. Having people in the pictures really adds life to the images, you can see the enjoyment and fascination these cars are evoking.

When we’re tired or at a low ebb it can be hard to make ourselves go out and mix with people. But I’m so glad I got Bambi out of the garage and went to this meeting - I came away with a smile on my face. Sometimes we have to force ourselves out of the door and it can feel hard (if not draining) at first. But once we’ve got back into the habit of being amongst people and life again, we start to reap the benefits.

If you’re in reach of West Sussex do have a look on the SADCASE website. As winter draws in there are daytime events as well as evening gatherings. You’ll meet plenty of like-minded people who have a wealth of car-related knowledge to share. It doesn’t matter if your vehicle is a much loved old runabout or a fancy Ferrari – all are equally welcome.

If you’d like to see some photographs of Amberley museum there’s a dedicated post here: Photographs of Amberley Heritage Museum