Ironbridge Photography

As my family live ten minutes away, I often find myself taking a wander through the town of Ironbridge in Shropshire. It’s always picturesque and I can’t help but want to take some photos. Due to lockdown, during my last visit a few months ago, the streets were mostly empty of the usual tourism you would find there.

One thing that stuck out of me on this occasion is the church. Whilst the Iron Bridge is always impressive and nice to see, the light at the time I arrived happened to be illuminating St Luke’s as it looked down from higher up the gauge.

The Iron Bridge is a bridge that crosses the River Severn in Shropshire, England. Opened in 1781, it was the first major bridge in the world to be made of cast iron, and was greatly celebrated after construction owing to its use of the new material.

In 1934 it was designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument and closed to vehicular traffic. Tolls for pedestrians were collected until 1950, when ownership of the bridge was transferred to Shropshire County Council. It now belongs to Telford and Wrekin Borough Council. The bridge, the adjacent settlement of Ironbridge and the Ironbridge Gorge form the UNESCO Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site.[1] The bridge is a Grade I listed building, and a waypoint on the South Telford Heritage Trail.

All photos of The Iron Bridge in Ironbridge were taken on the Fuji X-H1 with the Fujifilm XF16 - 55mm f/2.8 Lens, processed from RAW with Capture One.

Please visit the rest of my website, www.lukebennettphotos.com for much more content, including further landscape and nature photography from the UK and visit my Print Gallery to buy high quality prints of my UK landscapes.

Also, if you are interested in hiring me as your wedding photographer in Solihull, Birmingham, Coventry, Warwickshire, the Midlands or Beyond, please say hi!

Finally, please Help Support This Blog by Buying Photography Equipment on Amazon via this link and following me on social media.

Snow Photography in Warwickshire - Woodlands, Sheep and Horses Braving the Cold

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - I love snow!

I love the way it looks when it’s falling, all gentle and hypnotic. I love the way it looks when it has settled, coating everything across the land in a clean white sheen. I love the way it reminds us that nature doesn’t care about our systems or our road network or our need to do things. It just comes along, plonks itself down and causes a beautiful chaos.

Obviously it’s got some pretty strong competition in terms of the chaos part lately - For anyone reading this in the distant future (where hopefully the human race still exists in a renewed state of ignorant bliss), I’m writing this just after having had my first COVID-19 vaccine dose…

I made the most of the snow over the mid January weekend and ventured out, first on Saturday to Hay Wood in Solihull, one of my favourite places all year round. There wasn’t a huge covering of snow, especially deep under the cover of the trees, but it was lovely and cold and crisp, with a slight lingering mist in the air.

On the Sunday I took a walk locally around the block and off down a nearby footpath cutting through some farmer’s fields. Here I encountered a lovely horse and some sheep, grateful for their woolly jumpers.

All photos of the snow in Warwickshire were taken by Luke Bennett.

Please visit the rest of my website, www.lukebennettphotos.com for much more content, including further landscape and nature photography from the UK and visit my Print Gallery to buy high quality prints of my UK landscapes.

Also, if you would like me to photograph your wedding or event in Solihull, Birmingham, Coventry, Warwickshire, the Midlands or Beyond, please say hi!

Up Above the Streets and the Houses, Rainbow Climbing High (over the Wrekin)

I took a much needed walk up to the top of the Wrekin in Shropshire just before Christmas. It was a very cold and wet day, with huge muddy puddles everywhere and very slippery under foot. The kind of conditions where you need to be careful how you hold yourself and mindful of your surroundings. The best kind of conditions! Luckily, the sun was also out from time to time, for some lovely lighting at the top and clear-ish views over the surrounding areas.

As seems to be a common theme lately, I almost took a tumble a couple of times whilst scrambling around on the icy rock face. As I’m sure many other photographers can relate to, my immediate priority whilst slipping was to hold my camera out of danger, ignoring the potential breaks and bruises awaiting me on impact. Luckily I was fine and some well chosen swearwords seemed to aid my balance.

On the way back the light suddenly changed, covering everything in an orange glow and a lovely big rainbow could clearly be seen arching from one side of the Wrekin to the other. I could almost see the gold at the other end it was that close.

On the drive back, satisfied with a good walk and some nice photography opportunities I had to pull over for one final shot as the sun came down. This is (I think) part of the Long Mynd as viewed from the road by the Wrekin, looking very atmospheric in the cold winter light.

All photos of the Wrekin were taken in Shropshire by Luke Bennett.

Please visit the rest of my website, www.lukebennettphotos.com for much more content, including further landscape and nature photography from the UK and visit my Print Gallery to buy high quality prints of my UK landscapes.

Also, if you would like me to photograph your wedding or event in Solihull, Birmingham, Coventry, Warwickshire, the Midlands or Beyond, please say hi!


The Stiperstones

I took the opportunity to re-visit the Stiperstones in Shropshire a few weeks ago. I’d been before and took what I think were a nice series of photos, only in a moment of what can only be described as ‘stupidity’, I formatted my memory card before uploading them anywhere. Not my finest hour. But, a lesson learnt - always back up, always double check before deleting!

This most recent visit, whilst sharing the same rainy atmosphere was about 10 times as windy! It looks pretty nice and peaceful in some of the photos, but I’ve never experienced such windy conditions. At one point I was actually kept on my feet by the severe gale blowing against my back when I ended up losing footing on my way down the rock formations. So, thanks wind, I owe you one.

According to Wiki -

The Stiperstones is a distinctive hill in the county of Shropshire, England. The quartzite rock of the ridge formed some 480 million years ago. During the last Ice Age Stiperstones lay on the eastern margin of the Welsh ice sheet. The hill itself was not glaciated though glaciers occupied surrounding valleys and it was subject to intense freezing and thawing which shattered the quartzite into a mass of jumbled scree surrounding several residual rocky tors.[1] At 536 metres (1,759 ft) above sea level it is the second-highest hill in the county, surpassed only by Brown Clee Hill (540 metres (1,772 ft)). Stiperstones' 8-kilometre (5 mi) summit ridge is crowned by several jagged outcrops of rock, which may be seen silhouetted against the sky.
The general area has a long history of lead mining, most notably during the Roman occupation of Britain. Several pigs of lead have been found nearby, and the tradition continued into Victorian times.

The area around the Stiperstones is rich in myths and folklore relating to the rocks of the Devil's Chair. According to one legend, the ghost of Wild Edric, a Saxon earl who held lands that were confiscated after 1066 and successfully defied the Normans, for a time at least, rides the hills whenever England is threatened by invasion.

Aside from the incredibly blustery conditions and the spitting, cold (surprisingly painful) rain, there were frequent breaks in the cloud where the sun lit up the land through the atmospheric haze. I look forward to visiting again in the future.

All photos of the Stiperstones were taken in Shropshire by Luke Bennett.

Please visit the rest of my website, www.lukebennettphotos.com for much more content, including further landscape and nature photography from the UK and visit my Print Gallery to buy high quality prints of my UK landscapes.

Also, if you would like me to photograph your wedding or event in Solihull, Birmingham, Coventry, Warwickshire, the Midlands or Beyond, please say hi!

Wild Welsh Ponies on the Long Mynd, Shropshire

I was lucky enough to chance upon the wild Welsh ponies living atop the Long Mynd earlier this year. It’s always a pleasure to see them living naturally without (much) human interference in the wilds of the Shropshire Hills.

They tolerate their human observers pretty well and don’t seem to mind having their photos taken. A few of the mares looked to be heavily pregnant with large round abdomens; this was back in September, so I’m assuming they’ve had their offspring by now. Hopefully they won’t get too cold up there over the winter time! Although it would be lovely to see them in the snow, thinking selfishly as a photographer.

All wild Welsh pony photos were taken in Shropshire.

Please visit the rest of my website, www.lukebennettphotos.com for much more content, including further landscape and nature photography from the UK and visit my Print Gallery to buy high quality prints of my UK landscapes.

Also, if you would like me to photograph your wedding or event in Solihull, Birmingham, Coventry, Warwickshire, the Midlands or Beyond, please say hi!

Bluebells in the Warwickshire Woodlands

I’m a bit late posting this, given that bluebell season is now well and truly over, but I thoroughly enjoyed photographing this year’s batch. My local woodlands is a lovely place for walking and photography throughout the year, but for a short window somewhere around April/May it takes on a whole new character. The air is alive with the sounds of bees and insects performing their duties, the spring sun provides beautiful light and shade through the trees, and the carpet of bluebells adds a sprinkle of bright, refreshing colour to the scene, like something out of a fairy tale.

All bluebell photos were taken in woodlands within Warwickshire.

Please visit the rest of my website, www.lukebennettphotos.com for much more content, including further landscape and nature photography from the UK and visit my Print Gallery to buy high quality prints of my UK landscapes.

Also, if you would like me to photograph your wedding or event in Solihull, Birmingham, Coventry, Warwickshire, the Midlands or Beyond, please say hi!

Badger Watching in Warwickshire

A few years ago I had an amazing experience whilst walking through some hills in Warwickshire where I stumbled upon an area of wasteland full of fox holes carved into a stretch of sloped woodland. By sheer luck and good fortune I encountered a group of fox cubs playing in the afternoon sun. They allowed me to get really close and either didn't notice my presence or didn't seem to mind it. I only had my phone with me but made sure I took loads of video footage of them darting in and out of their hole and chasing each other around. It left me feeling privileged to have seen it and was easily the best wildlife encounter I've ever had.

Then, disaster struck (and a lesson learnt) - when upgrading phones and after backing everything up to my PC, I formatted the phone memory card, convinced everything had been transferred to the computer. But... it hadn't. The videos were missing and the phone was now wiped. This has been a source of regret for me ever since.

Each April/May since I've returned to the same spot in hopes of seeing more fox cubs, but so far I've had no luck. Last week, however, I visited the area again with a sense of optimism and anticipation.

Suddenly I heard a rustling in the distance, then in my periphery vision I saw an unusual shape that took my mind a few seconds to decipher... This badger! I spent a fascinating hour watching him (or her, I’m no badger sex-er) from a distance rummaging around the undergrowth, oblivious to me watching.

Whilst not what I was looking for, it was a really welcome substitute and a great wildlife experience. I’m particularly pleased with how these turned out given I don’t have a true wildlife lens so had to gradually get as close as I could without being detected.

All badger photos were taken in Warwickshire on the Fuji X-H1 with the Fujifilm XF50 - 140mmF/2.8 lens, processed from RAW with Capture One.

Please visit the rest of my website, www.lukebennettphotos.com for much more content, including further landscape and nature photography from the UK and visit my Print Gallery to buy high quality prints of my UK landscapes.

Also, if you would like me to photograph your wedding or event in Solihull, Birmingham, Coventry, Warwickshire, the Midlands or Beyond, please say hi!

Working From Home Because of Corona?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; (if you haven’t already) get a bird feeder!

Spending hours at home in front of a computer can get very boring, especially in these strange times of self isolation and quarantine. Nature probably seems like a distant memory to some people right now. Which is very sad as I firmly believe nature to be the remedy to a lot of things, introducing perspective, calmness, awe and beauty to the stressed mind.

As a photographer, if I’m not out taking photos, I tend to be indoors, alone, sorting through and processing photographs. As regular readers may have seen in previous blog posts, I’ve had some relief from my own company in the form of what’s going on outside my living room window. I get regular visits to my bird feeder from all manner of small birds and critters; from blue tits and nuthatches to squirrels and mice.

It’s really nice to see and frequently brings a smile to my face as well as a welcome distraction.

All photos of the critters outside my window were taken on the Fuji X-H1 with the Fujifilm XF50 - 140mmF/2.8 lens, processed from RAW with Capture One.

Please visit the rest of my website, www.lukebennettphotos.com for much more content, including further landscape and nature photography from the UK and visit my Print Gallery to buy high quality prints of my UK landscapes.

Also, if you would like me to photograph your wedding or event in Solihull, Birmingham, Coventry, Warwickshire, the Midlands or Beyond, please say hi!

Finding Beauty in the Old and Dilapidated - Photographing an Abandoned Barn

Sometimes photography will surprise you with subjects that you weren’t anticipating. In turn, sometimes the photos you take of those subjects will also surprise you.

This was one of those occasions. I hadn’t set out to take photos of this old abandoned barn, but I’m glad I did. In reality, I was simply wanting a relaxing afternoon walk, on a path through corn fields I’d taken many times before. I knew the barn was there as I’d seen it in the distance, in my periphery, but as it was off the established route I’d never really looked at it properly before.

On this occasion something drew me in closer, so I took a detour. Some may call it a minor trespass. I set my white balance in the fading light and started to shoot. What struck me immediately was how rich and colourful the textures were. Years of weathering worn proudly over its stoic wooden exterior. The rich green mosses usually seen on the northern side of trees in forests latched onto the jaunty, battered roof, affectionately.
Looking closely against the mellow sky, I could see old nails forced up from their positions by the expansion of damp timbers that surely did their best to face off many storms and rainfalls, but had to do it alone, unassisted and unprotected by regular care or maintenance. Whilst shooting I started wondering; how long had it been there? Who had built it? What sights had it witnessed over the years? This old barn had plenty of character and seemingly many tales to tell.

I plan to go back throughout the year to hear some more. Perhaps it will surprise me again.

All photos of the Grand Union Canal in Warwickshire were taken on the Fuji X-H1 with the Fujifilm XF50 - 140mmF/2.8 lens, processed from RAW with Capture One.

Please visit the rest of my website, www.lukebennettphotos.com for much more content, including further landscape and nature photography from the UK and visit my Print Gallery to buy high quality prints of my UK landscapes.

Also, if you would like me to photograph your wedding or event in Solihull, Birmingham, Coventry, Warwickshire, the Midlands or Beyond, please say hi!

Concrete, Canals, Reflections and Graffiti

Last month as part of my recovery from surgery, I took a walk down my local stretch of the Grand Union canal. It was a nice clear day, cold and bright; good photography weather. In fact, looking back, it was probably the last week where the vibrancy of autumn was still visible - the leaves have now all dropped from their branches so everywhere is looking a bit dreary and devoid of colour.

After a little while I came to a section of concrete overpass where the motorway crosses over the top of the canal. I’m not a fan of graffiti, as a rule (unless there’s an element of skill or thought behind it), but it can certainly make a photo more interesting. It just so happened that I’d arrive at the overpass as the sun was low enough in the sky to shine through brilliantly, creating severe areas of light and shadow and illuminating the tags on the concrete. Unfortunately I didn’t have my tripod with me, or it might have been fun to combine multiple exposures for more control over the balance of shadows and highlights in post production, but I think they came out OK.

All photos of the Grand Union Canal in Warwickshire were taken on the Fuji X-T2 with the Fujifilm XF16 - 55mm F/2.8 lens, processed from RAW with Capture One.

Please visit the rest of my website, www.lukebennettphotos.com for much more content, including further landscape and nature photography from the UK and visit my Print Gallery to buy high quality prints of my UK landscapes.

Also, if you are interested in hiring me as your wedding photographer in Solihull, Birmingham, Coventry, Warwickshire, the Midlands or Beyond, please say hi!

Winter Photography in Warwickshire

Happy New Year! Well done, everyone, you made it through 2019, you should be proud of yourselves!

To kick off the first post of 2020, now that autumn is firmly behind us, I thought I’d upload some wintery pictures.

The following were actually taken last winter, around the grounds of Charlecote Park, one of my favourite places to spend a few hours mooching around with my camera. I made a point of getting up pretty early that day with the hope of catching a nice frost and some sunrise shots of the deer. Whilst the frost cooperated, the clouds did not, so the lighting wasn’t as spectacular as I’d have liked.

There’s definitely a different feel to photos taken at sunrise, compared to sunset, though. I can’t really put my finger on it, but I guess there’s more a sense of optimism in the air as everything gradually comes to life, light leading the way, the birds chirping their dawn chorus. Sunset can be really nice and peaceful, but there’s more a sense that time is running out (at least for photography endeavours) as the light gradually fades.

All photos of the Warwickshire landscape in winter were taken on the Fuji X-T2 with the Fujifilm XF50 - 140mm F/2.8 lens, processed from RAW with Capture One.

Please visit the rest of my website, www.lukebennettphotos.com for much more content, including further landscape and nature photography from the UK and visit my Print Gallery to buy high quality prints of my UK landscapes.

Also, if you are interested in hiring me as your wedding photographer in Solihull, Birmingham, Coventry, Warwickshire, the Midlands or Beyond, please say hi!

Autumn in Warwickshire - A Farewell to the Season

Regular visitors might have noticed I’ve posted less frequently over the last couple of months. Long story short - I ended up having some surgery in October that has taken me out of action for a while. I’m still gaining full strength back but I’m pleased to say that I’m once again capable of going out with my camera again for some walks! It’s something I missed a lot whilst recuperating, especially so knowing that autumn was in full effect whilst I was bed-bound!

As a farewell to the season, with the cold of winter starting to take over and the colourful leaves almost completely shed, I’m sharing some of my favourite autumnal photos from this year and last. All were taken within the county of Warwickshire at some of my most frequented walking spots.

The above shots were taken during a short walk through Hay Woods nearby National Trust Baddesley Clinton. The woods were full of those beautiful late autumn oranges in the leaves, some still just about hanging to their branches, many fallen to the floor to provide nutrients to the critters and ultimately enrich the soil for continued growth next year. The smell of autumn was rich in the air too, carried by the moisture that purveyed, contributing to the presence of lots of rich green mosses.

The photos above (with the exception of the last three, which were taken the year before) were taken this year at National Trust Charlecote Park, the day before I went in for surgery, towards the end of October. The gardens there are home to some beautiful old trees that stand impressively large on the grounds, full of amazing character; the twisted, gnarled trunks, set off impressively by their multi coloured leaves during the autumn time. The icing on the cake are the deer that like to sit peacefully under the trees from time to time, presumably in a moment of calm, gathering their energy, in between rutting.

Above are some photos taken whilst walking through the grounds of Kenilworth Castle, last autumn. The lighting was brilliant, lending enormously to the atmosphere with a slightly yellowy shimmer.

All photos of the Warwickshire landscape in autumn taken on the Fuji X-H1 and X-T2 with the Fujifilm XF16 - 55mm f/2.8 Lens and Fujifilm XF50 - 140mm F/2.8 lens, processed from RAW with Capture One.

Please visit the rest of my website, www.lukebennettphotos.com for much more content, including further landscape and nature photography from the UK and visit my Print Gallery to buy high quality prints of my UK landscapes.

Also, if you are interested in hiring me as your wedding photographer in Solihull, Birmingham, Coventry, Warwickshire, the Midlands or Beyond, please say hi!

Ironbridge Power Station Cooling Towers

Rather sadly, I think, the cooling towers in Ironbridge, Shropshire have been demolished today. Visitors to The Iron Bridge of Ironbridge, will no doubt be familiar with the sight of the giant chimneys across the Shropshire landscape. The Power Station originally opened in October 1932 to generate electricity, with the iconic pink cooling towers (coloured that way to '“blend into the landscape”!) built in the 1960s.

Below are some photos I took this year and last, with the impressive structures standing tall and proud in Ironbridge Gauge.

All photos of the cooling towers in Ironbridge were taken on the Fuji X-H1 with the Fujifilm XF16 - 55mm f/2.8 Lens, processed from RAW with Capture One.

Please visit the rest of my website, www.lukebennettphotos.com for much more content, including further landscape and nature photography from the UK and visit my Print Gallery to buy high quality prints of my UK landscapes.

Also, if you are interested in hiring me as your wedding photographer in Solihull, Birmingham, Coventry, Warwickshire, the Midlands or Beyond, please say hi!

Nesscliffe Hills

I recently went for a walk around Nesscliffe Hills in Shropshire. I’d not been before so was really pleasantly surprised by how nice a woods it was. I’d taken my Fujifilm XF 10-24mm f/4 and Fujifilm XF 16-55mm f/2.8 plus a Lee Circular Polariser and 0.9 ND Filter.

Nesscliffe Hills is apparently famous for being a hideout spot for ‘Shropshire’s Robin Hood’. Wild Humphrey Kynaston, the Robin Hood of Shropshire, is reputed to have lived in the cave up 24 steps cut into the rock face on the west of the hill with his horse, Beelzebub, stabled alongside. Here, he could watch out for rich travellers on the road below.

According to folklore, to survive, Sir Humphrey took up with local highwaymen who robbed Welsh wool traders on their way to and from the Oswestry markets. His knowledge of military strategy made him and his gang highly effective and soon he became notorious, though endeared himself to the locals by redistributing a good proportion of the stolen money and goods amongst them.

As hideouts go it’s not a bad one, I found myself thinking, as I took a relaxing walk up the hill and through the woods in the early autumn sunshine. The views from the top as the sun was setting were especially nice.

All photos of the Nesscliffe Hills were taken with the Fuji X-H1 and with the Fujifilm XF16 - 55mm f/2.8 Lens and the  Fujifilm XF10 - 24mm f/4 Lens, processed from RAW with Capture One.

Please visit the rest of my website, www.lukebennettphotos.com for much more content, including further landscape and nature photography from the UK and visit my Print Gallery to buy high quality prints of my UK landscapes.

Also, if you are interested in hiring me as your  wedding or events photographer in Solihull, Birmingham, Coventry, Warwickshire, the Midlands or Beyond, please say hi!

Finally, please Help Support This Blog by Buying Photography Equipment on Amazon via this link and following me on social media.

Cat Portraits with Fujifilm XF 56mm F/1.2 and Fujifilm XF 10-24mm f/4 R OIS

My parents’ cats are incredibly photogenic. What more excuse do I need for an impromptu pet portrait session?

The first 10 shots are taken with the Fujifilm XF 56mm F/1.2. The last 4 are taken with the Fujifilm XF 10-24mm f/4 R OIS. Obviously the 10-24 isn’t thought of as a portrait lens, but it adds a fun perspective to close up head shots.

Having not picked up the 56mm F/1.2 in a while, I must say, I’d forgotten how clunky it is to use. It’s loud and slow, at least paired with the X-T2 and X-H1 (although I hear that with the X-T3 it’s given a new lease of life). Focus isn’t massively reliable (especially when shooting wide open, which is always the temptation with a lens like this) compared to some of the more up to date lenses from Fuji and using it with continuous AF is basically a fool’s game. But… it produces amazing results.

Oh, and if you’re wondering what kind of cats they are; they’re Lynx Point Siamese sisters.

All cat photos were taken with the Fuji X-H1 and the Fuji X-T2 with the Fujifilm X56mm f/1.2 Lens and the  Fujifilm XF10 - 24mm f/4 Lens, processed from RAW with Capture One.

Please visit the rest of my website, www.lukebennettphotos.com for much more content, including further landscape and nature photography from the UK and visit my Print Gallery to buy high quality prints of my UK landscapes.

Also, if you are interested in hiring me as your pet portrait or wedding photographer in Solihull, Birmingham, Coventry, Warwickshire, the Midlands or Beyond, please say hi!

Finally, please Help Support This Blog by Buying Photography Equipment on Amazon via this link and following me on social media.

The Iron Bridge of Ironbridge

Until writing this blog entry, it hadn’t occurred to me that the town of Ironbridge had a different spelling to Iron Bridge, the bridge made of iron located within the town of Ironbridge. Ahem.

Anyway, for those that don’t know, I shamelessly lifted the following from Wikipedia:

The Iron Bridge is a bridge that crosses the River Severn in Shropshire, England. Opened in 1781, it was the first major bridge in the world to be made of cast iron, and was greatly celebrated after construction owing to its use of the new material.

In 1934 it was designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument and closed to vehicular traffic. Tolls for pedestrians were collected until 1950, when ownership of the bridge was transferred to Shropshire County Council. It now belongs to Telford and Wrekin Borough Council. The bridge, the adjacent settlement of Ironbridge and the Ironbridge Gorge form the UNESCO Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site.[1] The bridge is a Grade I listed building, and a waypoint on the South Telford Heritage Trail.

I recently had a mosey on down one summer evening whilst visiting my family who live ten minutes away. The lighting wasn’t as nice as I’d hoped it would be. Greedily, I was rooting for one of those colourful skies and long shadow kind of evenings, but what I got was nice-ish but pretty flat.

The Iron Bridge underwent a lick of paint in 2018 in a dark red colour, thought to represent the original paintwork of the bridge when first constructed.

All photos of The Iron Bridge in Ironbridge were taken on the Fuji X-H1 with the Fujifilm XF16 - 55mm f/2.8 Lens, processed from RAW with Capture One.

Please visit the rest of my website, www.lukebennettphotos.com for much more content, including further landscape and nature photography from the UK and visit my Print Gallery to buy high quality prints of my UK landscapes.

Also, if you are interested in hiring me as your wedding photographer in Solihull, Birmingham, Coventry, Warwickshire, the Midlands or Beyond, please say hi!

Finally, please Help Support This Blog by Buying Photography Equipment on Amazon via this link and following me on social media.

Wheat Fields and Sunsets and Why I love IBIS (In-Body Image Stabilisation)

I’ve been enjoying the balmy summer evenings of late and whenever possible I try to get out for a stroll in the warm setting sun. It’s probably my favourite part of the day and there’s something calming about watching the world around you slowly winding down for the night as the light gradually fades.

On this occasion, I took a walk through Berkswell, Warwickshire (the small picturesque village perhaps best known for its church - St John Baptist Anglican - parts of it dating back as far as 1150 AD) and it’s wheat fields.

As on most occasions when I’m having a walk, I had a camera with me, and I was lucky to be rewarded with a beautiful sunset. I love these big impressive trees and think they make for great subjects against the colourful sky.

Now, camera nerds are a funny bunch… I’ve noticed a lot of debate around the merits of IBIS (In-Body Image Stabilisation), with some people saying it’s a pointless gimmick and a waste of time, only serving to compromise image quality and add extra size and weight to your equipment. “Why bother? I have a tripod!” they smugly exclaim. These people, clearly have no imagination, foresight or lateral thinking, because there are plenty of scenarios where IBIS is massively useful to have.

Take these shots below, for instance. At least two of them are shot handheld at 1/50 of a second. Whilst not a really slow shutter speed to be shooting handheld, certainly one you’d want to be holding your breath for, ensuring good technique and keeping as still as possible. With IBIS enabled, I feel confident that I won’t see any camera shake at this shutter speed, and so I feel comfortable to click away without a tripod. No lugging one out, adding extra weight to my bag, no setting up, adjusting the height and angle and composition. Just quick and easy handheld shooting with no restrictions.

If that’s not a reason to have IBIS as standard, I don’t know what is.

All photos of Berkswell were taken on the Fuji X-H1 with the Fujifilm XF16 - 55mm f/2.8 Lens, processed from RAW with Capture One.

Please visit the rest of my website, www.lukebennettphotos.com for much more content, including further landscape and nature photography from the UK and visit my Print Gallery to buy high quality prints of my UK landscapes.

Also, if you are interested in hiring me as your wedding photographer in Solihull, Birmingham, Coventry, Warwickshire, the Midlands or Beyond, please say hi!

Finally, please Help Support This Blog by Buying Photography Equipment on Amazon via this link and following me on social media.

Oat Fields and Storm Clouds

The weather in the UK, as everyone here will know, has been a little bit erratic of late… One minute we’re experiencing record breaking temperatures, the next we’re enduring months worth of rainfall in a couple of hours.

Personally, I love it. I think the extreme weather keeps things interesting (although I am lucky not to live within a flood plane). Much like when snow hits the country, the extreme heat forces you to slow down and abandon your usual routines. This can either prove stressful and frustrating, or, if you’re prepared to embrace it, it can be strangely liberating!

Lately, in an attempt to embrace the stormy conditions, I’ve been desperately hoping for thunder and lighting. I have a couple of locations planned out where I really would love to capture some extreme weather on camera. Sadly, the lightning seems to be hitting everywhere but near me. I’m still hopeful though…

In the meantime, last weekend I ended up in an oat field near Kenilworth after taking a chance on a footpath I’ve driven past multiple times but never explored before. The sky was looking incredibly moody, threatening some of those vast showers I mentioned earlier. I exaggerated the stormy effect with a Lee Circular Polariser and 0.9 ND Filter to save the highlights in the clouds, and I’ve made a black and white conversion to my own tastes in Capture One.

All storm cloud photos were taken on the Fuji X-H1 with the Fujifilm XF16 - 55mm f/2.8 Lens, processed from RAW with Capture One.

Please visit the rest of my website, www.lukebennettphotos.com for much more content, including further landscape and nature photography from the UK and visit my Print Gallery to buy high quality prints of my UK landscapes.

Also, if you are interested in hiring me as your wedding photographer in Solihull, Birmingham, Coventry, Warwickshire, the Midlands or Beyond, please say hi!

Finally, please Help Support This Blog by Buying Photography Equipment on Amazon via this link and following me on social media.

The Benefits of Working From Home: Part II

In what might become a regular feature of this blog (- returning readers may recall the very first post advocating the unexpected quirks of working from home), I've continued to have fun watching the wildlife out of the little window to my left as I perform my photography post-processing duties.

It's been fascinating watching the blue tits using the feeder and rearing their young. Over the weeks across spring and summer I've seen the offspring going from being fairly dependent on their parents,  all fluffy and uncoordinated, being brought and fed the seed, to developing a full plumage, mastering the art of flight and learning how to pick, sort and break into the seed for themselves.

I’ve also witnessed a fairly lucky slug managing to avoid becoming the lunch of an oblivious blue tit. I can confirm they did drop down safely to the ground without being eaten, shortly after the final photo in that sequence.

All garden bird photos were taken on the Fuji X-H1 with the Fujifilm XF50 - 140mm f/2.8 Lens, processed from RAW with Capture One.

Please visit the rest of my website, www.lukebennettphotos.com for much more content, including further landscape and nature photography from the UK and visit my Print Gallery to buy high quality prints of my UK landscapes.

Also, if you are interested in hiring me as your wedding photographer in Solihull, Birmingham, Coventry, Warwickshire, the Midlands or Beyond, please say hi!

Finally, please Help Support This Blog by Buying Photography Equipment on Amazon via this link and following me on social media.