Abisko autumn gold - sharing some memories of a golden week of photography

multiple exposure, Abisko national park

I have been wondering what to do with the images that I made from Abisko in Sweden, encouraged by Hans Strand and Better Moments photographic tours.

The scenes of autumn gold will be long gone now. Snow has almost certainly fallen within the arctic circle.

Birch leaves were vivid gold and falling fast while I was there in September, and here in the UK they are now doing the same.

As I make my final preparations for my trip down under to experience late spring and summer in New Zealand, I feel I should share some of the autmn gold that I experienced in the arctic circle before I head off into the longer days and bluer skies.

I experimented with different methods of capturing the landscape.

Conventional images using a tripod and macro lens......

I was surprised by the geometry of this rock on the river bank.

single leaf on rock

Multiple exposure...... done in the camera.

multiple exposure of fallen leaves and roots

multiple exposure of old birch trees

This one with pale blue sky is one of my personal favourites, and has been added, with another from Abisko to my website gallery 'Arborescence' ; in celebration of trees.

Birches, Abisko National Park

Focus stacking using a tripod..........

Focus stacking involves taking several exposures of the same scene focusing at different distances away from the camera. These can then be combined using digital software in Photoshop to give better clarity and depth of field within an image, and without the use of a tilt shift lens.

You can find out more about focus stacking in this video by Phillip McCordall.








Not normally something I would do, but when in Rome....

focus stacking in the birch forest

focus stacking in the undergrowth

Capturing reflections of the golden trees overhanging the Abisko River

Abisko Gold

the Abisko River

 The overwhelming gold colours are still imprinted in my mind.

It was a very special place.

Even the national park sign was gold.

 a selfie in the autumn sunshine.

Everything you need to know about preparing to make movies on your DSLR but were afraid to ask

essential tool number 1

You may have seen how hopeless my videos were of birds in the forest in New Zealand. Out of focus, juddery and totally lacking in cinematic style.

So hopeless that I signed up for a one day course on "How to make videos with your DSLR" organised by London Independent Photography at Photofusion in Brixton, in the hope that next time I see something worthy of a mini-movie I am able to do it justice.

The course participants were all female. We wondered if the World cup had something to do with that. Probably not, decided I, as across the corridor in another studio a class of 8 males and just one female were busy  taking photos of a female model perched on a desk - perhaps a course on portrait photography or studio lighting.

The sun was shining outside. Brixton market lay below us, visible through our window.

Brixton market

I was able to capture the security guard without him noticing; he having earlier tried to stop us practising with the follow-focus rig down in the market as we 'didn't have permission'. Permission was readily granted once we knew who to ask.

the security guard doesn't like people taking photos

Obviously it is not possible to learn to make movies in a day.

What I did get an understanding of, was the large amount of supporting gear that is used to achieve a shake - free, in-focus video with good sound quality. And it seems that next time am out in the forest, I will not be able to create  the perfect video unless I carry a few essential items.

So here are the essentials.

• a clapperboard. So that you look the part, and to aid focusing on set.

•  a DSLR loupe   Basically a viewfinder that attaches to the LED screen so that you can see what you are doing. Approximately £80.

• or if you prefer an HDMI external monitor . Then you can really see what you are doing. £500+

• a follow focus rig. You will need another person to operate this for you............ but it is the key to accurate focussing and fun to practice. A low budget model looks like this . Starting at around £65. 

• Prime lenses are desirable as the follow focus rig attaches to them better, and they make for better focussing and image quality. Preferred lenses include 50mm 1.4 and 85mm plus a wide angle....... £560 upwards. 

• a torch for focussing at night . The good news is that I have one of these.

• a set of ND filters to allow wide open apertures and variable focus in daylight (you should  always shoot at 1/50second so exposure options are restricted). Or a vari-ND rotating filter  for variable light adjustment during filming. £100+

• Microphones to improve sound quality; use the in camera microphone and a back up external microphone. The options here are endless. 

this is NOT how it should be used

external microphone

I would rather have one of these........

As it will sit on the top of my camera and stop the wind distortion. Plus it looks funky and has a good name and only costs £25.

• a tripod designed for video with a floating head............  I shall point you here to a blog by Vincent Laforet ( as I like his name and he summarises all the options succinctly). In fact he has written so much on all of the above that I no longer feel I should continue .........

• plus video editing software, plus lighting ( but where is the power point in a forest?) , plus tracks to run the tripod on for smooth transitions . Or failing that a rig like this for hand held videos (£982). I can just see me in the forest with this. 

Lanparte Complete DSLR Rig  - Travel Rig

and finally, the one thing that I feel tempted to buy; 

• an intervalmometer which only costs £26, and with which I could try making time lapse videos.

How could one resist an object with a name like that?

And then maybe I could make a video like this ............... of the beautiful El Tiede mountain in Tenerife.

The Mountain from TSO Photography on Vimeo.

I can recommend the course; I really did learn a lot, and now know how to set my camera up properly for making videos. I will not be taking out another mortgage to get kitted out with all the above, but I do have a much better understanding of the issues involved in making a quality movie.

And if I go out at night, I can use my torch.

travels without a tripod

waiting for the tourists; Yosemite in November

I am in the land of big scenery.

Magnificent in every way……….in November, when it could be snowbound
but is not. There is snow on the high ground, but not on the roads.

Which is lucky really, because if there was snow we would have had to hire snow chains to enter the park or the rangers wouldn't have let us in. And the car hire company wouldn't have let us use the snow chains if we had needed to…………. which created a bit of a dilemma, which has been resolved by the absence of snow. Crisis over.

The sun has shone relentlessly since our arrival, making landscape photography challenging, unless you want the sort of picture postcard views that would grace a calendar in a tourist shop. Which I do not, but am ending up with just because the sky is blue.

blue skies and sequoia trees

I left my tripod behind as this is  a family holiday, not a photography workshop or tour. Just me and my other half, cruising around in a shiny red hire car, no snow chains allowed.

The sun sets behind the mountains very early in Yosemite valley, surrounded as it is by towering rocks, so artfully captured by Ansel Adams and many more since. By 4pm it is pretty dark, and without a tripod I couldn't get away with less than 640 iso, really not done if you are a proper landscape photographer . Could I get away with it?

No. Not really. The are grainy and the colours are weird.

So I just have to accept that I have come home with images that are good enough as a reminder of my trip, but not special.

Good enough for a small book that serves as a holiday photo album. But not much else.

Life is full of compromise. Which is a small price to pay when spending time in one of the most beautiful natural landscapes in the world.

autumn in Yosemite valley

more autumn in Yosemite

thicket

and the inevitable grass picture from down by the river behind Yosemite Lodge