ianmountford

Wayward

This was two years in the making to get the right conditions. It involved climbing a vertical ladder onto the narrow sea wall and standing precariously beside m...
Read more

This was two years in the making to get the right conditions. It involved climbing a vertical ladder onto the narrow sea wall and standing precariously beside my tripod to get the shot.
Read less

Canon EOS 5D Mark III

settings

Aperture f/11 ISO 200 Shutter 30/1 Focal Length 19/1

upload_date

Mar, 2019

Views

9121

Likes

+4k

Awards

Zenith Award

Top Shot Award 21

Spring 21 Award

Legendary Award

Judge Favorite

2020 Choice Award

Elite

9Teen Award

Lucky 3 Award

Celebrity Award

Contest Finalist in Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 43

Curator's Choice

Peer Award

+720

Superb Composition

+205

Top Choice

+140

Absolute Masterpiece

+139

Outstanding Creativity

+81

Superior Skill

+19

Magnificent Capture

+16

All Star

Genius

Virtuoso

Emotions

Impressed

+414

Happy

+13

Relaxed

Sad

Upset

Top Ranks

Top 20 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 20 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 2

Top 10 rank week 1

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Top 10 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 2

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Categories

Very artsy. Would hang this one in my house.

I Told Him Not To Have That Last Drink !!!!

A Fantastic place and a great composition, Excellent photo work, indeed!

Beautiful! Where was this shot?

Its St Monans in Fife, Scotland

Well, those two years of this photo coming together were definitely worth the wait. Wonderful shot!

Really nice. Well executed 👍

PRO+

Love this

A great shot from my village, I must give this a go. Great composition, technique and lighting.

great photo of St Monans

amazing!

Cracking photo of an iconic pier m8, grew up not far from there myself.

PRO+

Exceptional photography

Lo bueno, se hace esperar. Qué gran toma! Valió la pena el peligro y todo lo que implicó esta toma! Felicitaciones!

Wow beautiful

super picture with soft water

A photo I really want to take but never got around to taking ....

Wow

Platinum

I love the lead in lines in this image.

SO biutyfull

I love the color and the way it is

Nice

Wow that's amazing

Fantastic

Wow this is incredible

GRAT PITCHER I LIKE I

god

Wow totally mesmerising

PRO+

Love the composition.

👍

Platinum

Wow

Not sure how you do it but this is epic

Gorgeous!

Marvellous 👌🏾

Legal

Peaceful

😍

Cooooooool

Cool shot!!!

😍

The end of the line

😍

I like this

Nice

Omg if I was on that bridge I'd have a heart attack.

👏👏👏👏

Amazing!

Nice

Wow

????

👍👍

It's just looking like life path which never enda

Awesome photography...pure talent behind that camera🔥🔥🔥

Wow

Nice

Love that

😍

?????? ? ??????.

Excellent!

This is beyong stunniiiing!!

Great!!!

Beautiful

espolón zig-zag

Awesome

Top Claas

Eerie feeling

Wow stunning

Breath taking 👌

Ultimate

Nice shot

Amazing the picture draws me to it!

Sensational

😯😍

Platinum

amazing!

Nice

👍

Amazing

Beautiful

This is a great shot! It makes me want to explore!

Platinum

Love this!!

beautiful shot

Beautiful

Platinum

Awesome capture!

Great..congratulations

😍

Amazing BNW!!

😚

Beautiful

Platinum

Love it

Mysterious wonderful

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Behind The Lens

Location

This is the very unusual sea defence at St Monan's in Fife, Scotland. It really is one of a kind and its wayward zig zags inspired my title for it. This is a very long distance from my home so chances for me to photograph it are very rare. So you pretty much have to accept whatever the weather is doing on the day. I had been here on an earlier trip but was beaten off by a severe gale and wild waves that made getting anywhere near it way too dangerous. So I had to wait for another 2 years for a chance to visit it

Time

I was leaving the North of Scotland and timed my journey to arrive at high tide, which was mid morning. You have to be very careful when gaining this viewpoint. There is a walk down the first pier which has a wall taller than myself hiding any rogue waves that can flood over the top of it and give you an unexpected soaking. Then you have to climb some iron rails set in the wall to reach the top of the wall. There is just enough width to set a tripod up, but you have to stand at the side of it and lean over to your camera to frame the shot. There is also a good drop beneath you, so caution is key.

Lighting

There were frequent showers and the sun was fleeting between them. I was hoping for a Long Exposure of a minute, but the frequent sea spray made that impossible, so I doubled my ISO and halved my exposure to 30 secs. I cleaned my filters, again! and covered them with a cloth and waited for the sun to light the sea defence before taking my shot. Storm light is always dramatic and well suited to mono work. The dark skies and the searing sunlight gave some stunning light, and the wet wall sparkled in it.

Equipment

I used a Canon 5D Mk3 with 17-40mm f/4 USM lens at 19mm, ISO 200, 30 secs at f/11. Giottos carbon fibre tripod with Manfrotto geared head. Filters used were a Lee 10 stop ND with Lee 0.6 Grad. A remote cable timer was used.

Inspiration

I had heard about this sea defence and had found it on google maps satellite view. It was the uniqueness of it zig zag shape that immediately drew me to it, and I knew then that I had to visit it at some point.

Editing

Because of the frequent sea spray & rain on my filters I could not get a clean shot of the entire image, so I combined two shots that had a clean sky and one that had a clean sea defence. I also added a soft haze on the horizon, so that the sharp lines of the zig zag were prominent. After that some dodge & burning was used enhance the high contrast areas near the centre.

In my camera bag

Nowadays I am using a Sony A7r Mk3 with the Sony 24-105mm, which is a stunningly sharp and adaptable lens. I always have my Lee filters with me, which comprise of a 10, 6 & 2 stop ND, and a .9 & .6 Grad. I use a 3rd party cable timer to time my long exposure shots. My favourite tripod is the lightweight Giottos carbon fibre, and I love my Manfotto geared head because of its ease of use for framing my shots. I also keep a Sony RX100 mk2 in my pocket for quick shots that don't give me time to unpack my other gear.

Feedback

When planning any shots at the coast you must know your tide times, and what state of tide that suits your subject. I always put safety foremost and prefer to abort and return at a later date if conditions are against me. Be adaptable to the conditions and change your style to suit. Know how to get the best out of your camera and lens before you go.

See more amazing photos, follow ianmountford

ianmountford

ianmountford

Wayward

This was two years in the making to get the right conditions. It involved climbing a vertical ladder onto the narrow sea wall and standing precariously beside m...
Read more

Views

Likes

Awards

Emotions

Top Ranks

Categories

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

Same photographer See all Behind The Lens

Discover more photos See all

Behind The Lens

Location

Time

Lighting

Equipment

Inspiration

Editing

In my camera bag

Feedback

See more amazing photos, follow ianmountford

ianmountford

Wayward

This was two years in the making to get the right conditions. It involved climbing a vertical ladder onto the narrow sea wall and standing precariously beside m... Read more

Views

Likes

Awards

Emotions

Top Ranks

Categories

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

Same photographer See allBehind The Lens

Discover more photos See all

Behind The Lens

Location

Time

Lighting

Equipment

Inspiration

Editing

In my camera bag

Feedback

See more amazing photos, follow ianmountford

This was two years in the making to get the right conditions. It involved climbing a vertical ladder onto the narrow sea wall and standing precariously beside m...
Read more

Same photographer See all Behind The Lens