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FollowThe magical Wistmans Woods in Dartmoor. The stunted oak trees are covered in lichen and moss and sit on a rocky hillside. ...
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The magical Wistmans Woods in Dartmoor. The stunted oak trees are covered in lichen and moss and sit on a rocky hillside.
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Behind The Lens
Location
The photo was taken at Wistmans Woods in Dartmoor, Devon. The location is situated on the side of a rocky valley near Princetown.Time
The photo was taken just before sunrise as I didn't want harsh shadows. It is quite a challenge to get to the woods as it is about a 2 mile walk across rocky, water logged terrain. For me timing at this period in the day is very important, especially with a shot like this.Lighting
To bring out the rich green tones it was important to avoid bright sunshine and so the lighting needed to be quite subdued. Even in late Winter when this photo was taken the woods can appear quite dark so getting the exposure correct is a key factor to a successful image, especially as I wanted to bring out the saturated colours of the moss and lichens. I tried to achieve a dark, spooky like atmosphere.Equipment
My equipment was a Fuji XT2 body with 10-24 F4 wide angle zoom. I didn't use any filters but where the shutter speed was low I found a small portable tripod invaluable to rest on the rocks. The Fuji 10-24 F4 does have image stabilisation, which can be very effective. Setting up a full size tripod would have been difficult.Inspiration
I had seen photos of these woods on various photo sharing sites and I was really inspired by the ruggedness and combination of the moss covered rocks and stunted oaks, which is quite rare in Dartmoor. The woods are also suppose to be haunted and the challenge of bringing this out in the final image really appealed to me. Added to that I felt it would make a strong alternative image to add to my landscape portfolio.Editing
When I took the photo I shot both RAW and jpeg which I find gives me a wider range of post processing options as well as a backup in case of data loss. Using a Fuji XT2 has the benefit of superb out of camera (OOC) jpegs using the rich tones of the classic Fuji films. On this occasion I used Velvia Vivid to fully saturate the mossy greens of the trees and rocks. For my Post Processing I use Lightroom or Alien Skin Exposure X2 where I worked on the RAW file to create the atmosphere I wanted with basic settings and added a slight, soft vignette. The OOC jpegs can be used but where dynamic range is critical I will resort to RAW. The film simulations are a great reference point.In my camera bag
For this type of location and my landscape work in general I will carry two Fuji bodies, XT2 and X-Pro-2, 10-24 F4, 16-55 F2.8 and 40-150 F2.8 for distant detail. i also have a range of ND, Graduated filters and Polariser using the NISI V5 system. All my gear is packed into the Mindshift Trailscape 18L backpack. This is ideal for a mirrorless system and is fairly light. My Benro carbon Fibre tripod easily fits in the side pocket along with a flask of coffee and ipad or phone with location maps.Feedback
I think the key to this type of image is to research the location well through online resources and maybe a prior visit. Lighting, weather conditions and time of day needed to be just right so use your weather apps and of course a little bit of luck. Late Winter was the best time to visit with wet damp conditions so the moss and lichen was at its most colourful.