94 wanderlust.co.ukOctober 2019
PHOTOGRAPHY
Capture those breathtaking moments when you
stumble upon somewhere new and unexpected and
you’ll have those memories for a lifetime.
Creatingatmosphere
KennallValeablazewith
autumncolour;
backgroundiscriticalto
agoodphotograph
William
Gray;
Paul
Goldstein
98
Capture
atmosphericshots
inKennallVale
William Gray, travel
writer, photographer
and a contributor to
Wanderlust since 1993
There’s a tiny nature reserve
tucked away in a little-visited part
of Cornwall that could almost
have been plucked from the
Peruvian Andes. Long abandoned,
smudged over by moss and
ferns, the Kennall Vale dynamite
works remind me of an Inca
ruin. Partly digested by a thick,
shadowy beech forest, a stream
tumbling past the silent buildings,
it’s the perfect spot to capture
atmospheric photographs rich
in hidden stories. I visit this local
patch several times a year, but
early November – when the beech
trees are ablaze with autumn
colour – is particularly rewarding.
Working in low light, using long
exposures and being super-critical
of good composition in a chaotic
environment, it’s a great primer
before a more far-
lung trip to
a tropical rainforest.
william-gray.co.uk
99
Use a shower cap
in the rain to
photograph predators
Predators often use bad weather,
a storm or high wind as cover to
hunt. Whilst all the other folks are
heading back to base, stay out in
it – some of the best behaviour
can be seen at these times. A hotel
shower cap is your best friend in
rain as an emergency cover
100
Be patient
Great images
aren’t arrived at by chance
so patience – spending
hours motionless waiting for
‘that’ moment – is critical.
101
Do a lot
research
Give yourself a list of images
you might like to take, then a
list of things that could make
that happen. When that list
looks roughly correlated you
are ready to travel.
102
Don’t buy,
hire
Hiring can be just as good as
buying, but remember, it is
the lens that makes the real
di erence. A big, heavy lens
does generally take a better
picture. Sorry!
103
Persevere not
Photoshop
If you messed it up, delete it
and try again. Don’t rely on
ixing it later on a computer.
104
And don’t
be afraid
to miss things...
It’s just a photograph.
The quicker you get over
minor mishaps, the better
a photographer you will be.
Goldstein’s law:
Wildlife photographer
Paul Goldstein
shares his top six
photo secrets