Wait for Golden or Blue Hour? Capturing Landscapes in Sunlit Skies : Thinking Differently.

Wast Water Sunrise - The Lake District

Coniston Water Serenity.. Early Doors and not a cloud in the sky

Ask most landscape photographers and a blue, cloudless sky are likely to be some of the least favourite conditions. They are, for me pretty uninspiring in relation to photography: Give me misty, rainy or even stormy vista, but not bright sunshine and cloudless skies. especially in the middle of the day.

I have just returned from a week away in the Lake District: an area I am woefully unfamiliar with and one that is a huge draw for landscape photography. In the week or so leading up to the trip, the weather forecast was predicting pretty much wall to wall sunshine, exactly the weather which wasn't hoping for. It's difficult to convey the drama of this very special landscape when the sky is blue, the sun is high in the sky, the light is harsh and the more distant shots reveal an unseen heat haze that distorts and softens the scene. I hoped the weather forecast would prove to be wrong as I wanted to make the most of the trip away whatever the time of day

It wasn't all wall to wall sunshine, The sunlight managing to fight it's way through clouds painting a truly stunning scene in the Lake District. Being in the right place at the right time is a bit of a lottery, so patience becomes a virtue, Looking North West from Walna Scar.

The first few days of the week were, however (as predicted) predominated by blue skies with little or no cloud a lot of the time. Now, given that we have just come out of a pretty grey and wet winter, it feels a little churlish to complain about glorious spring days, but creating interesting images really is a challenge in bright sunny conditions.

So.....how to capture some interesting images over the first few days. There are many options and I thought I would run through some of the ways I go about overcoming conditions that I am not feeling inspired by. It is easier to demonstrate my thought process with actual images showing the techniques I use to obtain images that I am much happier with.

Starting with the reason for this blog and a shot taken at Blea Tarn. As a composition I quite like it: the fence heading into the tarn, the trees beyond and the surrounding high ground all make for a pleasing composition, but there is little chance without snow capped hills, misty conditions and very little in the way of shadows to produce an image with impact: Early afternoon, the sun high in the sky makes this image pretty flat to me.

Here we are at Blea Tarn on a beautiful sunny day.

Those who have followed me on here and social media know that I have a love of monochrome images and my default thought with the above image was to photograph it as a Black and White image. While Black and White photography often brings to mind moody, overcast days or soft, diffused light, shooting black and white landscapes under bright, sunny, cloudless skies offers a unique challenge and opportunity. The intense sunlight creates stark contrasts and sharp shadows that can transform a simple scene into a more dramatic study of light and form.

Monochrome Magic. I far prefer this Mono interpretation to the colour original. For me, the stone wall and the fence (foreground interest) stand out more and the whole scene looks much more appealing. It is much more what I had in mind while taking the image.

Black and White can be very effective on a bright sunny day, but there are other ways to deal with the challenges of a bright sunny day: the next being composition.

Another way is to ignore the sky completely by either reducing it's proportion of the image or not including it at all. A change of perspective can also make a more interesting composition, so take time to see what other compositions are available, rather than focussing on the most obvious. A changed composition focussing on a smaller part of the overall vista can enhance the effect of the brighter light. Here's another example:

What immediately drew me to take this image were the Bluebells in the foreground and a few feet beyond the tree trunk. I also liked the shadow running vertically up the tree trunk along with the dappled light in the foreground. The glimpse of the river helps to draw the eye deeper into the image towards the distant high ground.

Coming in tighter not only enhances the bluebells which are more prominent, but also loses the dead space of the sky seen in the first image. Yes, the sky is still part of the scene but isn't so dominant. The river still leads the eye deeper into the image and the shadows on the foreground and tree trunk is still part of the scene

Tighter still and although the tree trunk and much of the foreground is lost, the image feels much more pleasing. The Bluebells and mid distance trees are now the stars of the show, as are the rocky outcrops on the hillside, I would have preferred not to have any sky in the image, but I didn't want to cut the higher rocky outcrop in half on the opposite side of the frame. Overall, I think this of the 3 images works best.

Picking out detail can also be a useful tool to overcome the challenges of harsher sunlight. Looking for patterns, repetitions and shapes in smaller parts of the landscape can allow you to ignore the bigger picture with all its difficulties.

I took some images at a disused quarry : Banishead, which isn't far from the Old Man of Coniston. The light wasn't particularly inspiring, so I focussed on the waterfall that tumbles into the old quarry along with the rock formations in the cliff faces exposed by the quarrying.

Although the sky wasn't quite as uninteresting: at least there were some clouds. It is very easy to capture an image that is literally of a quarry on a moor and nothing more than that, The location may very well be beautiful, but the wider view may not always produce a pleasing or interesting final image

By concentrating on a small area of the quarry, the patterns and textures are highlighted

A more abstract composition of patterns, texture and colour

Using the movement of water creates a more dynamic image and enhances the rock strata

There are definitely challenges to capturing the more conventional landscape type images when the weather is bright, but the final thought is to seek out scenes where the sky plays a less prominent role in the composition and darker places like woodland or indeed and deep quarry can provide the inspiration that you are seeking, The added benefit is that they also tend to be cooler and offer some respite from the midday heat.

Woodland Waterfalls are a source of creative opportunity and are often simply beautiful. A chance to practice some slightly longer exposure photography in the middle of the day. Although I actually find waterfalls a little 'obvious' as a subject, there are chances to slow down and enjoy the moment.

The small details

Deep in a quarry, the harsh midday light is subdued and the contrast opens up new creative opportunities

After a very busy morning, Cooper the Cocker found a perfect spot for a snooze and also added something to this composition.

It is easy to head out into the landscape with a pre-conceived idea about how your images are going to come out : I still do it a lot and often find that conditions cause me to re-think when I am at a location. This is a great thing really and part of a creative process that I have learned to enjoy. Adapting and being open to changing a focus is what photography is about for me and it helps that I can see the beauty in the detail.

These ideas and suggestions are all personal and whilst they are useful tools to have in your arsenal, finding what works for you is part of the creative process and specific to your style of photography. Wouldn't it be a dull world if we all liked or did the same thing?

I am currently putting in place some field based photo courses, covering composition, camera settings, long exposure and many other photographic techniques. Watch this space and my social media. I'd love to hear what you are struggling with and what you would like some help with, so please drop me a message.

Enjoy and embrace the sunshine.

Mark