In a brief departure from our usual blogs about financial planning and investments, I wanted to share the story of a photograph I took in the Surrey Hills at the end of September.
The photo was published this month by Surrey Life magazine and is one of the most popular in my online portfolio.
I’ve been interested in photography for about a decade, starting off with a Nikon SLR in the days when film was the only real option.
A couple of years ago my interest in photography was reignited with the purchase of my first digital SLR, an entry-level Nikon D40. Photography can be an addictive hobby and I now use the semi-pro Nikon D7000.
One of my favourite locations for taking photos is the Surrey Hills, a short drive from where I live in Cranleigh.
On a Thursday evening after work at the end of September, I headed up to Pitch Hill above Ewhurst with the intention of taking a sunset photo. It had been an unusually warm day for the end of September and the sky was quite hazy, although relatively free of clouds.
After the steep climb to the top of the hill from the car park, walking alongside a disused quarry, I set up my tripod at the viewpoint, looking west towards the Devil’s Punchbowl. I had checked the sunset times online before leaving home and still had around twenty minutes to go.
My original plan was to use an ultra-wide angle 12mm lens to capture the sunset and vista across the Weald of Surrey and Sussex. As the sun started heading towards the distant hills, this was resulting in some nice photos of the landscape but leaving the sun itself disappointing small in the frame.
I quickly switched to a longer 200mm lens, making the sunset larger in the photo whilst still capturing the landscape. This had the benefit of compressing the perspective between the surrounding hills, making it all appear closer together in the photo.
Of around 200 images taken that evening, this one seemed to best capture the atmosphere of the sunset. It’s a High Dynamic Range (HDR) photo, which involves the blending of three separate exposures to create a better representation of light and shadow.
You can view more of my photos at martinbamford.co.uk.
If you are a photographer, we would love to see examples of your favourite photographs. Please use the comments section below to share links.
