An enlightening exercise

After years of prevarication and half hearted attempts, I recently undertook a comprehensive image library review, primarily to delete images and free up disk space. As it turned out, it proved to be an exercise that was enlightening for a number of reasons. On a mundane level a not insignificant number of images were ruthlessly deleted, for varied reasons, many of which I would euphemistically categorise as embarrassingly poor demonstrating considerable scope for improvement.  What was particularly thought provoking was revisiting images with fresh eyes and a measure of objectivity.

Locations to be revisited

A number of areas/locations had fallen off my radar in recent years, I have no idea why, nonetheless I'll rectify that with some future excursions.

2009 ~ A revisit is long overdue to this area of the Cambrian mountains

Weather, Air clarity and Lighting

It was disheartening to view images that suffered from poor air visibilty, numerous excursions suffered from haze caused by sublimated frost, water vapour, particulate matter or wildfires.

2014 ~ Haze in the Cairngorms

2011 ~ Haze courtesy of wild fire smoke, clear skies courtesy of a weather front that failed to materialise.

Then there were days when the cloud didn't break up.

2011 ~ Geologically compelling scenery that would benefit from more than flat lighting

Or hill fog put in an unwelcome appearance

2012 - Hill fog bubbling up at sunset on Aran Fawddwy

Then there were forecasts where the cloud base was too low.

2013 ~ Low cloud base in the Cuillinsv

I make a point of taking and saving a screenshot of the weather forecast before a trip, to see the difference between theory and practice. It certainly pays to be philosophical and accepting error margins with weather forecasts, as there are also days when the cloud base lifts and a break appears.

2013 ~ Cloud base lifts and a break appears in the Black Mountains

The attrition of wind vibration on image quality can be profound and unsurprisingly there are a number of 'soft' images deleted. Wind afflicted excursions are signified in my image library by a series of apparently identically framed images.

2015 ~ crop of wind vibration effect on image quality

Then there are wrong season and/or wrong place and/or wrong time, AKA hard earned field experience.

Experimentation

2009 ~ Polarising filter and peat stained water - not the best. 

In a moment of weakness I purchased a polarising filter and was underwhelmed with the lurid colours it produced across a range of subject matter. The small positive was the insight into marketing of photography products.

Image sets taken for panoramic stitching, in practise frustrating to execute well in dynamic lighting of dawn/dusk and/or atmospheric weather. I cannot recall who said it, but I wholeheartedly agree with the statement :

"A panoramic stitched image looks exactly like a stitched panoramic image, taken in weather and lighting amenable for panoramic stitching."

Sometimes it pays to set a manual white balance, most oftentimes it doesn't.

Philosophical

2009 ~ Abstract view of Dam overflow

From 2006 I followed my landscape photography journey and noted the change in subject matter preferences. Getting to grips with the challenge of woodland photography, the drift away from coast and seascapes, woodland plantations, ancient sites and the increase in visits to locations rich in geology and ecology.

2011 ~ Stone circle

It was a very worthwhile exercise and one I would recommend for the insight gained.