Reflected glory
The stone bridge at the mouth of Bentley
Brook’s Lower Pond makes for a pleasing
rustic scene. Once again, the extremes
of contrast created by the sunshine made
exposures tricky, so Brian framed out the
sky to focus instead on its reflection in
the water. He shot in Aperture Priority
so that the camera would select the
shutter speed to get a standard exposure.Reader 1
Brian Wakelings stunning as Stanage Edge
was, conditions were cold and
we hadn’t had any breakfast.
A hearty full English rectified
this, and allowed us to review
images before mounting up and driving the
21 miles to Lumsdale Falls, near Matlock on
the south-eastern edge of the Peak District.
The falls are adjacent to a cascade of ruined
mill buildings, an atmospheric combinationthat makes for a great photographic
location. Our shooters would have to be
mindful of the high-contrast lighting, though.
“Here, I aimed to capture the contrast
between the sharpness of the rocky outcrop
and the silkiness of the flowing water, with
the water flowing diagonally through the
scene, together with the sunlight on the
foreground rocks,” recalls Brian.
“By composing fairly tightly on the
waterfall, I avoided having a patch of sky
blow out at the top of the image. I like the
play of light on the foreground rocks and
the texture of the water, although the waterperhaps lacks some detail. Using a faster
shutter speed would have fixed this, but
at the expense of the water’s smoothness.”Expert opinionThe stark lighting conditions at Lumsdale
Falls were a real challenge, but Brian has
overcome them with this considered
composition. The carpet of water created
by a slow shutter speed mimics the shape
of the foreground rocks. The smattering of
green tones via the moss and the leaves is
a pleasing addition to the colour palette.Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Lens EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 40mm
Exposure 0.3 sec at f/22, ISO 20094 DIGITAL CAMERA^ MARCH 2020 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com
Challenge 2Shoot a waterfall
at Lumsdale
A