The Lone Tree and my Drone - An Obsession

This tree has become a bit of an obsession.

I first noticed it when helping friends move home. They didn’t move far. Just further down the lanes in Mid Devon but to a beautiful new spot. So incredibly peaceful. The silence only broken by the sound of the wildlife and that’s to be relished.

It was when driving through the lanes on the back and forth trips I saw the tree high up on a hill, all alone. Couldn’t decide if it felt proud or lonely. It was screaming out to be photographed though.

With it being across a ploughed field perched on top of a hill in another field and quite some distance from the lane I’d stopped in, there was no way to get close on foot. But then I do have a drone. That could work.

I was thinking of maybe doing a long exposure with the clouds over the top of the tree but I’ve lost count how many times I’ve headed over when I thought conditions were right. It’s only a short drive. Well 30 minutes-ish from home but incredible how in such a short journey the conditions can change. Maybe that’s just a Devon thing.

I tried an evening shot with the setting sun but got there a little too late. Didn’t work out too bad though I guess.

Then followed several more aborted missions.

The other day though things started to slot into place.

Blue skies. Fluffy white clouds. No wind. Well…very little.

Using my DJI Air 2S Drone, I took off vertical from where I’d parked up to make sure there were no livestock over the other side hill. Didn’t want to disturb them or worse still…scare them.

All clear.

Set the drone to take 5 Raw photographs at 5 different exposures. Made a HDR image in Lightroom.

Originally thought about just including the tree and the arc of the hill.

Changed my mind and included part of the ploughed field.

Glad I did.

Edited the resulting file in Lightroom and Photoshop.

Finished off with one ‘look’ using Topaz Studio 2.

Hope you like it.

I’ll do a Behind the Scenes video showing this on my YouTube Channel.

Talking Gear on the He Shoots He Draws Podcast

Had such a blast last week catching up with my mates Dave Clayton and Alan Hess on the He Shoots He Draws Podcast talking ‘all things gear’.

We chatted for an hour about the kit we’re using and why, covering the computer, monitor choice and graphics tablet, and with me having had my iMac recently die on me and to be replaced with the new Apple Mac Studio M1 Max, the timing couldn’t have been better.

Always great fun catching up with the guys, and as always, even though miles apart (Dave in Swindon and Alan in San Diego, USA) it still felt like 3 mates sat in a bar chatting.

You can catch the episode on all the great podcast platforms.

Using my Drone to take Photographs of Sunrise at Lyme Regis in Dorset

Over the moon with all the results from taking photographs with my drone (DJI Air 2S) at Lyme Regis, Dorset. The light was incredible and the conditions couldn't have been better!

Being a morning person, setting an alarm for 4am and heading out, definitely has its advantages…

Lyme Regis is a place that's quite special to Anne and me. So many great memories of times when we first starting holidaying in Devon and visiting River Cottage and would always pop down the road and over the border to Dorset to get a 'fix' of sea air and our tradition of a bag of chips on the beach...no matter the weather.

As a Portrait Photographer, I've always found it fascinating how moving around your subject, once you have placed the light, can give so many different looks...from the same set up.

The same can definitely be said for landscape / seascape as this photograph I took of Lyme Regis in Dorset yesterday with my drone was taken moments after the first one I posted ... the same height but with a shift to the right, further back and changing the angle of the camera.

This panorama of Lyme Regis, Dorset consists of 24 photographs taken with my drone and then blended together in Photoshop…

Completely BLOWN AWAY with the quality of the file; so bloomin' happy

Couldn’t resist some top down shots too…

I remember a few years ago, Joe McNally relaying a story of a portrait assignment that he went on and once finished and kit packed away, upon leaving, the owner's cat appeared and jumped up onto his owner's shoulder; Joe quickly grabbed a few frames with his camera that he'd kept to hand and THAT was the picture that ended up being used.

Not quite the same, but this picture from yesterday made me think of Joe's story. Once I'd landed the drone on some Beach Hut Decking having taken the pictures I wanted, I then started to pack away and just happened to glance at the screen on the remote controller and saw this…

Roll on the next flight!

I'M ADDICTED!!! 📷 Long Exposures by the Sea (HOW TO) BASIC to BEAUTIFUL 😍

It's incredible how using a long exposure can completely transform the look and feel of a location.

In this video I take you through the Photography showing how a 30 second long exposure can smooth out waves to create a glass like surface, to the retouching in both Lightroom and Photoshop, also showing how to make selections and cuts with one slider.

Enjoy,
Glyn

💥 THIS will give your pictures DRAMA and IMPACT: Fake Long Exposure Effect in Photoshop

I love how using a long exposure to create much more drama and impact in pictures. But what if we didn't use a long exposure when we took the photograph?

Here's a super easy and effective technique I use to recreate the long exposure look...and it works an absolute treat!

💥 DOING THIS will make your PORTRAITS POP and come to life: My 20/10 Technique

So many times I get comments about the portraits I take and how they appear to almost come forward of the screen, and even more so, forward from the paper when printed.

This effect is largely down to a particular technique that I use in Photoshop; a technique that I call 20/10.

In this latest video I show exactly how I use it but also explain the principle behind it and why it works so incredibly well.

Hope you like it,
Glyn

DOING THIS made a BETTER PHOTOGRAPHER: Tethering HOW and WHY

If there's one thing that has made me a better photographer more than anything else, it's tethering!

In this video I explain WHY and HOW including HOW to Tether using Sony, PLUS an extra tip at the end about HOW to help people become more CONFIDENT in-front of the camera…

In addition to the software and a cable, there’s lots of additional kit made by TetherTools that is designed to make tethering, either indoors or outdoors, as simple and as convenient as possible.

Over on my GEAR PAGE I’ve listed the kit that I use on a very regular basis; you can check that out using this LINK or just clicking on the GEAR link at the top of this page.

Cheers,
Glyn

WORTH THE RISK? Taking Photographs over the SEA with my Drone

In this latest video I take you behind the scenes from the first day with my new drone; the DJI Air 2S as I dare to fly it out over the Atlantic Ocean in Cornwall to capture a photograph that simply would not be possible without it…

DJI Air 2S ... VERY HAPPY that I Upgraded

Over the past few weeks I’ve been experimenting, doing more and more photography with my drone, which up until recently was the DJI Air 2.

I’ve had this drone for little while now but mainly used it for video footage that I use in my YouTube videos, but lately I’d been trying out for its stills capability.

Overall I was kind of happy.

Sure the quality wasn’t up there with my Sony A7RIV (especially in low light conditions) but the stills were pretty good. I was however curious about the upgrade to the Air 2S with its 1” sensor; could it really be that much better than my Air 2?

In short … YES!

I asked on YouTube if anyone had any thoughts and experience of the difference between the Air 2 and the Air 2S, and ALL comments were that the upgrade is definitely worth it … so I went for it.

The very first morning I had with the new drone, we had the most stunning light and conditions and the Air 2S worked an absolute treat.

Flying was definitely more responsive, but it was when looking at the Raw files back on the computer that the benefits of the upgrade was so obvious.

Later the same day I headed over to Cornwall, and one of my favourite locations, Trevose Head, to see what the drone could do over the sea.

I’ll admit to being a little nervous but despite the stronger than I would have wanted winds, and the more then inquisitive seagulls, the Air 2S handled the conditions with ease.

The ability to get compositions that just wouldn’t ordinarily be possible, excites the heck out of me; the creative possibilities are endless.

I ended up going for the “Fly More” combo which includes extra batteries, rotor blades, ND filters and a carry case, but what’s great is that the batteries from my Air 2 are compatible, so I now have 6 batteries giving plenty of flying time before I even think about recharging on the go.

Today I also got a Circular Polariser so I’m curious how that actually works on a drone as you have to manually rotate it to get the desired effect depending on where the lens is pointed.

So, lots of testing to be done and lots of photography to enjoy ahead that ordinarily wouldn’t be possible, but to say I’m happy with the quality of the images this thing produces, would be an understatement!

Oh and this weeks video on my YouTube Channel will be showing some Behind the Scenes from the first outings.

Cheers,
Glyn

Photographing Whiteford Lighthouse in South Wales with my Drone

So a few days ago I headed back to photograph Whiteford Lighthouse in South Wales; the very same place that only a couple of weeks ago I very nearly smashed my camera, lens and a filter.

Not one to give in though, this time I headed back but with a completely different game plan … to use my Drone instead of my main camera.

My reason for this was that ordinarily to photograph the lighthouse, you have to be near to it so that you can photograph it at the right angle and for that you need to wait for the tide to be out as it is such a long way offshore. Trouble is I didn’t want to photograph the lighthouse when the tide was out so that it was stood on a flat, dry, rocky sea bed with no water around it.

The solution would be to use my DJI Air 2 drone; the question though is, would the quality from the drone be good enough?

Well, I’m VERY happy to say the answer to that question is a definite YES…

This time everything came together…

I was joined by my dear friend Anthony Crothers, and having checked the weather, the cloud cover, the tide times and the drone flying zones, when we finally got to the location, it simply couldn’t have been better.

So, here’s a Behind the Scenes video PLUS I go through as bit of the retouching of the final image in both Lightroom and Photoshop…