Dealing with overcast skies on the Isle of Mull

Ever since spending a day in Tobermory back in July I have wanted to return to Mull and discover what else the island has to offer. Having been delighted by the town's colourful houses and vibrant harbour I have been itching to re visit with my camera and get down to some serious landscape photography.

Returning at Christmas I was hoping for some great winter light and abundant photographic opportunities. Unfortunately the weather had other ideas. We arrived to howling winds and heavy rain which eventually gave way to grey overcast skies, pretty much setting the scene for the whole week.

There is a theory in landscape photography that there is no such thing as bad weather only different kinds of lighting and it is up to the photographer to make the most of the available conditions. Sunshine and bright skies create high contrast images where as grey overcast skies produce much more subtle effects. Colours tend to be pastel tones rather than vibrant hues. These can work really well to create calm, muted images which evoke a sense of tranquility.

Grey overcast skies can also form an effective background to man made colour. In this image of Tobermory the muted colours of the sky and water help the coloured houses to stand out from the background.

Landscape photography on a grey day is all about dealing with the available light and thinking creatively to produce compelling images.

My top 5 tips for creating good images on an overcast day are:

1. Learn to see the landscape in pastel tones, if there really is no colour then practice thinking in black and white and convert your images to monotone during post processing.

2. Think about the available light which is likely to be significantly reduced in overcast conditions. A tripod is essential, shoot in Aperture priority and choose a large F number to achieve a good depth of field.

3. Think about your white balance. Try switching your cameras metering system to cloudy which should warm up your image and make it visually more appealing.

4. Grey skies can produce flat underexposed images so I tend to use a circular polariser to enhance the texture and colour in the sky. Remember that a polariser will also stop some of the available light; roughly 2 stops, so again a tripod is essential for good depth of field. Check your histogram regularly and dial in exposure compensation if necessary. You may also find it necessary to use an ND filter to balance out the exposure between the sky and the land.

5. Think about your composition and avoid large areas of sky if it is lacking in detail. Try to find interesting foreground detail with plenty of texture or tonal contrast to add interest to your image.

Inspiration and motivation

Traditionally, as December draws to a close, I like to review my photography and the journey I have taken over the last 12 months.

This year I have spent a lot of time thinking about my inspiration and motivation and the drivers which lead me to make the images I make.

For me photography is as much about interacting with the environment as it is about producing good images. As human beings our relationship with the outdoors and connection to the natural world is vital to our sense of fulfillment. We need to get outside, to breathe fresh air, take in the view and marvel at our place in this world. We need to do these things to feel alive but I also think that from a photographic point of view we need to do these things to connect and have empathy with our environment. Surely this is the only way we can capture great landscape images. How can we possibly hope to convey a landscape in all its glory if we are not fully connected with it?

For me photography provides a reason to get outside. We live in an age where our relationship with the natural world is diminishing. The fast pace of life has taken its toll and there never seems to be enough time to just be and enjoy our surroundings. Without my love of photography I would have missed so many wonderful things; beautiful sunrises, stunning sunsets, the ebb and flow of the tides and the changing of the seasons. These are all things that have enhanced my life, things that are available to everyone, but which many of us fail to take advantage of. For most these wonders of the natural world go un noticed, burried in a never ending cycle of work, stress and commitment.

I have realised over the last few months that my photography has improved the greater my connection with the environment and equally the more I photograph and observe a landscape the greater my connection to it becomes.

My inspiration has come from many locations but none more influential than Ramsholt on the River Deben, a place I shared with my family for several years. This location shaped my photography; I came to know it really well, I documented it through the seasons and watched the wildlife come and go. I grew to love the landscape, the light, the changeable weather and the flora and fauna. I noticed and observed and channelled all my feelings for this place into my image making.

I was reading a book the other day by Richard Louv which contained the following quote which sums up my attitude to photography and the outside world - "We cannot love what we do not know and we cannot know what we do not see."

Perhaps if we all examined our connection with the natural world we would find our outdoor photography improved as our knowledge of our environment grew. We may also feel a growing sense of fullfillment and a renewed fascination with the world around us and that has to be good for our photography and the future of our environment.

In 2013 I will be introducing a new e - course based on this very subject. It will cover how we see our environment, how we interact with it and how we can channel this into emotive and inspiring image making. If you are interested please contact me for more details.