Landscape Course Portfolio

 I decided to take my Portfolio shots at Nymans Gardens in East Sussex for mainly practical reasons. When I started the Landscape course (April 2010), I was living in Spain but I knew that we would be re-locating to the UK later in the year. Therefore, I needed a location in the UK but one that I could visit when we made trips from Spain to see family. As we have grandchildren in Brighton, it made sense to choose somewhere accessible to there, hence Nymans.

The first three photographs, chosen from those taken for Assignment 1, represent Spring. The first shows the typical blossom at that time of year. I used a Canon 50mm lens at f/1.8 to obtain a shallow depth of field.

The second shot has been adjusted slightly to take account of my tutors comments about positioning the bridge higher in the frame.This shot was taken using a Tamron zoom lens at 100mm at f/22 with exposure time of 2.5 seconds (using a tripod, of course).

The third shot is again adjusted from the original and has been cropped to give more emphasis to the daffodils and to place them on a 'third'. Tamron lens again, f/9, shutter speed of 1/15 sec at 65mm.

The first of the summer shots is looking towards the house and a family picnicking. Taken with the Tamron zoom lens at f/22 and a shutter speed of 1/6 secs @ 154mm.

I produced a shot similar to this second Summer shot for Assignment 1, but my tutor felt that the path was too central and it needed to be taken lower down and nearer to the tree. I have tried to follow that advice here with this wide-angle shot taken at f/16 with a shutter speed of 1/55 seconds @16mm.

The final summer shot was again taken low down but with the zoom lens at f/22 and shutter speed of 1/13 seconds @59mm.

The autumn shots were taken on an overcast day and highlight some of the vivid colours seen at this season of the year. The first shot, though, was taken from ground level looking through fallen leaves. Tamron lens 18 - 270mm, f/16, shutter speed 1/8 at 21mm, ISO 100.

The second autumn shot has both wonderful golden leaves on the tree on the left but a very brooding sky. Tamron 18 - 270mm lens, ISO 100, f/16, shutter speed 1/30 secs at 42mm.

The third shot shows a number of different trees, all showing their various autumn colours. Tamron 18 - 270mm, f/16, shutter speed 1/20 secs at 91mm, ISO 100.

I had been hoping to get some snow covered landscapes for the winter photographs to really distinguish the seasons but, unfortunately, this wasn't possible for this portfolio. The first early winter (November) photograph gives some hints of the season with the colour of the leaves but it could almost be an autumn shot. Tamron 18 - 270mm lens, f/10, shutter speed of 1/40 secs at 35mm and ISO 400 (without tripod).

Similarly with the second shot but this has more of a winter feel with the almost bare branches. Tamron 18 - 270mm lens, f/11, shutter speed of 1/13 secs at 59mm and ISO 400 (hand-held).



The final shot is taken deeper into the season (early February) and is unmistakeably winter with the naked branches standing out in the sunshine. Tamron 18 - 270mm lens, f/11, shutter speed 1/400 secs at 154mm and ISO 400 (handheld).

Conclusion

In conclusion, I think that I created a difficulty for myself with the location chosen for the portfolio exercise as there wasn't enough variety in landscape available within Nymans. I felt this particularly in trying to produce something distinctive for the winter, and to some extent the autumn, photographs. If I were to do the exercise again, and as I have now returned to live in the UK, I would have chosen somewhere like the Peak District with its more dramatic landscape and seasonal variations and  I would have included more 'distance' shots, as well.