Lost In The Process

It’s December, which marks just over a year ago since I stopped working the portrait business and stepped back to be a hobbyist/enthusiast photographer. Just as well seeing as what has been happening over the past eight months! I took my first landscape photographs after a six year break shortly afterwards.
It was great to be back outdoors photographing for fun, and doing it when I wanted to with no deadlines to meet. I had a few inland and coastal locations on my wish-list, and was just getting back into the swing of things again when COVID-19 and lockdown struck, immediately halting any further shoots meaning I missed out on the last couple of months of my ‘season’. I’m never one for landscapes during the summer, the alarm clock calls are too early, the sunsets are too late, and the light too hazy for my tastes. Couple this with the fact that my favourite beaches and the Broads are very popular, it makes deserted scenes much more challenging. Instead I had to look forward to autumn before getting back into taking photos again. The appalling non-stop wind and rain weather on the East Coast during much of September and October delayed the restart, but thankfully I managed to venture out before Lockdown 2 reared its head.




The lockdown and summer months did give me the chance to look back on the images I had produced during the previous months. I noticed a distinct style beginning to appear. I suppose it’s just a natural progression and evolution that any artist/photographer would see in their work, and is due to increased experience and looking at subjects and locations differently. The six year gap has caused the reset button to be hit. In truth I had forgotten how I was working my landscape shots before, meaning I now look at my compositions differently than I did all those years ago. It is definitely a much more simplistic approach and outlook. By this I don’t mean the compositions, I’ve always loved simple compositions, it’s the process and focus of the shots that has changed. The first few times I ventured out the weather conditions weren’t great. Either overcast and grey, or clear skies with no cloud. Without an interesting sky you are forced to look for other ways of making a landscape shot hold the viewer's interest. This is where the sea, waves and sea defences come into play, and is what I use to become the focus of the image.
Simplicity too is the number of locations visited. The temptation is to go everywhere possible to capture the standard landscape images, and whilst different settings are in my plans, it is important to understand each location to get the best from them. Gorleston Beach is my local stretch of coast, and so when time is short, it is my go-to. I understand where the best compositions are, where to go without too much pondering, walking up and down the sands trying to work out what to photograph. Hopton Beach was totally new to me until December. It’s one that I am enjoying learning about. It is very different to Gorleston, and is part of it’s appeal.



Simplicity also means not chasing a set number of images from each time I set foot outside with my camera. Sometimes I’ll be lucky enough to get five or six I’m really happy with, others may not have any that make the cut. It’s the process and the surroundings that are the appeal.



I find Landscape Photography to be the antithesis of the stressful, modern life many of us lead, where the great outdoors offers a calming, relaxing environment, and gives me the break we all need from time to time, I guess these days it can be labelled as a type of mindfulness. It’s the serenity of the outdoors that I enjoy, and is what I am looking to capture; the beautiful soft lights at sunset, and the movement of the sea as it breaks and recedes on the beach, environments which I have found to be the most relaxing to be in. So far I have only photographed seascapes, not that there's anything wrong with woodland or Broadland views, they will come eventually, but for now it’s the sea that is holding my fascination. I’m shooting long exposures, usually around 1-2 seconds to emphasise the motion of the sea and waves as they break. To get the best composition I shoot the same scene multiple times, timing the shots to catch the receding water. It’s hypnotic. I can lose myself for long periods of time waiting for the best wave, or the right movement. Time flies, but with it is that sense of letting go, being totally immersed in the process, it’s mindfulness in a creative setting. If you haven’t tried this pastime, and it appeals to you, I would definitely give it a go. I’m certain you will soon be hooked.