St. Margaret’s Street, Canterbury, Kent
The view of Canterbury Cathedral from the usually bustling St. Margaret’s Street. I took this about 30 minutes after sunset on a clear Summer’s day to
1) avoid the crowds and
2) to balance the street lighting and the dimness of early blue hour which is a lovely time to shoot street scenes like this.
I’ve recently bought a printer and started printing my images; but why? Printing is expensive. Inks, paper, the printer itself all cost a lot of money, something I have little of so it took a long time to convince myself to go through with it.
Here are my reasons…
Yep, so we’ve all heard that ‘there’s nothing like a real print in your hand’ sentiment, but it’s true. Viewing an image on screen cannot match having that print in front of you to scrutinise and marvel at and for those special images you’re really proud of, it’s great to have them on your wall or in a portfolio.
I love to be in control of the whole process of photography; from capture to printing and mounting.
Ok, so why not just send it off to a professional printers?
Yes, well I’ve been doing that for a few years and it was working out alright. I had gone through a few different companies and I ended up finding a really good printer who produced nice work, quickly and for a reasonable price. All of this work was the traditional C-type prints on a Lustre paper which worked out fine for the odd portrait shoot I did but for my own landscape images it fell short. I looked into getting fine art giclee prints done through this same company but the prices rose tremendously. My notebook was full of calculations trying to work out which works out cheaper in the long run but it all depends. I realised that what counts at the end of the day is getting the best print and as I’m finding out, that sometimes takes a few attempts to get right. Going through an online printer can be a bit hit and miss and with the p&p costs, I probably wouldn’t bother trying to get it right and I’d end up not being satisfied. I like to be in control of the process and learning the skill of crafting the perfect print; it all adds to the sense of accomplishment.
Ok, let’s get printing..! Which printer then..?
This comes down to budget, space, main style of prints to produce. I ended getting the Epson Sc-P600 A3+ pigment ink printer. I found one for £500 at Cameraworld with a £50 discount. This was during the Photography Show at the NEC so I can only guess it was some sort of promotion because it was £100 cheaper than anyone else. It is one of the smaller A3+ printers compared to the Canon equivalents and has Wifi which is very handy in my small office space. I decided to pay more for a printer that uses pigment inks vs dye inks as I mainly want to use fine art matt papers which these inks are more suited towards. I intend to exhibit and sell my work more in the future which really does require a fully archival product that’ll last. If I had magically found another £500 I would have gone for the A2 P-800 version for the larger prints and bigger ink cartridges.
The SC-P600 ‘s small footprint is vital for my little office. The Wifi feature too is great to reduce clutter.
Ok great, which paper..?
In the landscape photography world it’s hard not to have noticed Fotospeed recently. The signature papers from Joe Cornish and Charlie Waite had certainly got me interested so I ordered some test packs to try them out. Of all the different papers, it was actually the Natural Soft Textured Bright White paper that really stood out. It is has a slightly textured base which I think is just enough to add depth to images especially my seascapes. It doesnt work for all images though, I recently had to print my blue hour shot of Canterbury Cathedral for an exhibition. It’s a very colourful image which was outside the papers gamut and required a punchier smoother paper. I ordered the Platinum Lustre from Fotospeed which worked perfectly.
The slightly textured surface of the Natural Soft Textured Bright White paper from Fotospeed.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my ramblings and that it has helped someway in your own printing journey..!
I’ve just returned from the best part of a week away in Bamburgh, Northumberland. This is my second Winter photo trip after escaping to the epic West Cornwall coast last year. I like going away at this time of year as there are less people about so you’ll often have the place to yourself, accomodation is much cheaper and the coast can be wild and stormy; my favourite.
Sky comes good – Bamburgh Castle on the final morning of my trip
Day 1
I arrived shortly after dusk and checked into the Victoria Hotel in Bamburgh. I set out to quickly gather my bearings and look around the village which consisted of a couple hotels and shops. The castle dominates the view, in its size and the fact it was the only thing lit up at night. The rest of the village was in pitch blackness which is not quite what I’m used to in Kent. I began to walk along The Wynding but I was unprepared to exploring in the dark so I turned back although the sound of the coast was impressive and wet my appetite for the following morning.
Day 2
One shot I was keen to get while on this trip was of Bamburgh Castle reflected in the wet sand at dawn, ideally with a nice bit of colour in the clouds. Being based so close to the Castle I was able to come down every morning of my 4 night stay but with little success, most mornings were clouded over with only the last morning offering any sky detail to make use of. Later on that day I went on to explore Seahouses, Beadnell and Embleton Bay nr Dunstanburgh. The latter has lots of potential for creating an original view of the Dunstanburgh ruin with its arching sandy beach and high dunes, definitely one to come back to in better conditions.
Through the dunes at Seahouses looking towards the Farne Islands
Gull Crag cliffs next to Dunstanburgh Castle
A cloud line emerged above the waves at Embleton
Dunstanburgh ruin from the dunes at Embleton Bay
Day 3
With the doomed Bamburgh sunrise all over with I could set off to St Abbs Head just over the border in Scotland. I had been recommended visiting here for the lighthouse primarily and after looking at Flickr I saw some nice work from people I follow so I knew there was a lot more to the location. I arrived at the lighthouse car park in terribly calm weather, no wind and clear skies which made a change but for a location so dramatic, probably for the worse. I had fun exploring the tall cliffs, finding a few angles of the lighthouse that could work in different light. By the time sunset arrived I was treated to some nice colour behind the lighthouse, at this point the beacon came on adding the final ingredient.
Twilight colour at St. Abbs Head, Berwickshire, Scotland
Day 4
The Bamburgh sunrise didn’t materialise again so I ventured on towards Budle Bay, just a bit further up past Bamburgh beach. I remember coming across an article by Jon Gibbs extolling the merits of Budle Bay so I was keen to check it out. Walking through the golf course I could see these massive sand dunes up ahead, unlike anything I’d seen before. I scrambled up to the top, careful not to make new footprints in the sand. From above there were good views looking inland and out towards Holy Island.
The lone Bamburgh beach hut just after dawn
Looking inland from the Budle Bay sand dunes
Making my way down on the Bay itself I was treated to a rare glimpse of light which made all the difference in this long exposure looking towards Lindisfarne Castle.
A rare glimpse of light illuminating the sandy beach at Budle Bay with dark clouds over Holy Island in the distance
For the second half of the day I would make the pilgrimage over to Lindisfarne Castle on Holy Island. According to the tide times I could stay until 5pm, just enough time to photograph a sunset if I got lucky. Unfortunately the clouds stayed all afternoon but I had fun shooting the views looking back towards the mainland.
The view towards Guile Point and Bamburgh Castle from Lindisfarne
Also finally seeing those iconic hut’s from LPOTY 2012..!
Day 5
This was it, the last chance to get an image from Bamburgh at dawn. The forecast had changed in the night from the usual overcast kind to a clear sky at sunrise which had me hopeful of some colour and cloud detail at last. That prediction turned out to be a bit optimistic although there were a few patches in the sky which I could make use of with a long exposure.
That’s it, thanks for reading..!
St. Margaret’s Bay Field Report
The other week I made two trips down to St. Margaret’s Bay nr Dover at sunrise. It’s a place I’ve been to many times before and in the past I’ve come back with some nice images. I wanted to visit again as at this time of year the sun rises directly out to the middle of the sea and with a high tide forecast I thought I could get some good shots of the incoming waves at sunrise. Of course that didn’t quite work out did it…! The tide turned out to be so high and rough that I couldn’t get down onto the beach far enough to reach the nice round pebbles this bay has. I persisted probably a bit too long before admitting defeat and moving on. By now the sun was coming up and casting nice golden light onto the far cliffs so I quickly shifted to a tried and tested shot to make use of the light.
Although its a view I’ve shot before I’m glad I did as the rough waves have really add something different. As it happens a few minutes after this the clouds rolled in and the sun wasn’t to be seen again that morning so was definitely good to get something. I continued to walk up the bay past the White Cliffs cottage and onto the bay underneath the White Cliffs. The tide was still very high and was creating a nice curve that lead towards a view of the cliffs. I set up the shot on the waters edge to shoot as the waves come in. With a 6 stop filter this gave me a shutter speed of 5secs which calmed the sea and emphasised the shape of the curve. I think this was the first time I had been to this part of the bay at such a high tide and it opened up a lot of shots I hadn’t thought of before so I decided to come back the next morning and continue where I left off.
On the second morning the sky was quite cloudy but with enough detail and different shades to be ideal for longer exposures. I went to the cliff view from last time but the tide wasn’t in position yet so I started shooting the nearby groynes. This proved to be quite challenging though as the tide was moving in so quick that i’d only have enough time to set up and shoot a few exposures before having to retreat up the beach to wipe the spray off the lens. It was good fun though and I need to come back and shoot these again as they are quite different to other types I’ve seen and also they don’t have the posts at the end which can get in the way of the view of the sea.
After taking the cliff shot the conditions were still perfect so I stuck around and continued to shoot. I’ve tried shooting this staircase/sea defence wall before as it’s an interesting structure but this time I like the outcome. I used a polariser to help control the wet sheen on the wall from the waves, I then added a 10 stop filter to calm the sea and add a little movement to the sky. This helps focus attention on the structure and add to it’s surreal nature.
Thanks for reading..! Next one coming soon…