Getting Through Summer

‘Heron On Guard’ Nikon Z7 @ 300mm, f22, 15 Sec, ISO 64

Summer is traditionally seen as the worst season for landscape photography. Those endless blue skies might be good for the holiday maker but are generally uninspiring for photography.

Couple that with late sunset times and ridiculously early sunrises and it soon becomes a time when the camera doesn’t come out of the bag very often.

This year we have had a lot of unsettled weather dominating here in the UK. This has at least given us some drama in the sky on occasion.

I was lucky enough to spend my summer holiday this year in the mountains of North Wales. Stunningly beautiful, the Snowdonia National Park (or Eryri to give it its correct Welsh name) is one of my favourite parts of the world. I’m not alone in loving the place, so from dawn until dusk and sometimes beyond many of the locations were filled with people. The money the tourists put into the local economy is vital and I’m not one of those photographers who complains if a location is packed with people. Or at least I try my best not to complain! The mountains and lakes aren’t going anywhere so I tend to view these busy times as scouting missions, looking for compositions. Returning at a different time of day or even a different time of year should get you the reward of the image you want. Plus, there is always the magic of Photoshop to remove any unwanted people!

Sometimes its worth not fighting the crowds. If you cannot beat them, join them. This is exactly what I did this summer while staying in the village of Betws-y-coed. Under a clear blue sky and soring temperatures there was little to be had photographically. Or so I thought. Right from the door of the cottage we were staying in was a riverside walk. A popular tourist trail. We decided to take the path with little expectation of even getting the camera out of my backpack. In the end what we had was a great day out in nature. Being there was what counted. Photography was an addition and surprisingly I managed to find and capture some scenes I’m really pleased with. To top it off, we came across a heron standing poised ready to catch its lunch in the middle of the river. I had the 70-300mm lens with me, so I was able to fill the frame with the scene and do the bird some justice. When I turned round there were half a dozen “real photographers” and many more phone snappers (I even noticed a couple of iPads – always amazes me that people carry these around for taking snaps?!). Each and every person was enjoying the scene in front of them. Each will have gone home with an image. Some will have been better than others, either due to equipment, skill or good timing. Some will just sit on the memory card. Some will get printed out. Many will have ended up on social media.

In that moment it didn’t matter if you were pro with a flagship camera or a grandparent sharing the natural world with your grandchildren on Facebook.

In that moment we were all photographers.

In that moment we were all just in awe of nature.

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