2019-10-01 Wanderlust

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