Edyta Rice
Our Apprentice shoots first and last light in rural Wales with landscape pro Edyta Rice
Early bird Edyta is up before the lark (and in bed after the owl) to school our Apprentice in mountainous landscapes.
Llangorse Lake is the largest natural lake in southern Wales and is home to the country’s only crannog (an ancient wooden homestead built on water). It’s also an area steeped in legend. For it’s said the body of water was once the location of King Arthur’s Camelot and a lake monster (locally referred to as an afanc) occupies its muddy depths, waiting to prey upon those foolish enough to fall in…
Our Apprentice met landscape photographer Edyta Rice on a bracing afternoon against a backdrop of foreboding
clouds and towering mountains – every bit a scene straight from Arthurian legend.
“We’ve got a couple of hours before sunset,” said Edyta, “so I think we have just enough time to capture a few images of the Welsh Crannog Centre.” The pair walked to the lake’s shore and picked their way along a wooden jetty that was adjacent to the photogenic structure.
CAPTURE THE CRANNOG
As Dave set up his tripod Edyta reminded him to extend the thickest legs first for as much stability as possible, but before he secured his camera she told him to handhold the device and look through the viewfinder: “This gives you the freedom to find your composition without having to constantly readjust the tripod.”
Dave only required a few compositional pointers, and Edyta was pleased to find he was already set up to shoot Raw and was using Matrix Metering. He also refined his frame instinctively using Live View. “What’s the red overlay for then?” he asked pointing to the rear LCD on Edyta’s Z 6. “It’s a function called Focus Peaking,” replied the pro. “The red indicates areas that are in focus and it moves in real time as I turn the focus ring.” She explained she prefers to focus manually, but since Dave was used to AF and didn’t have Focus Peaking on his D7200, there was no reason
to change tack. “I’d still recommend zooming into Live View to make sure your focus is pin-sharp,” said Edyta as she pressed the Playback zoom in button.
Dave captured some Super Shot-worthy images of the crannog, but before they headed off Edyta had one more angle in mind: “If the centre is open, we can set up on the walkway and shoot directly towards it.” Sadly the seven-foot gate at the beginning of the walkway was shut, but Edyta wasn’t ready to give up.
“Not every landscape has to be taken on a tripod. See what you can capture by reaching over the fence.” Dave held the camera high above his head and looked up at his Nikon’s rear LCD. Edyta suggested he use the grid overlay to ensure the image was perfectly symmetrical. “I wish I had an articulated screen like your Z 6,” laughed Dave as he adjusted his shutter speed to mitigate camera shake. As the pair of
photographers reviewed the images Edyta pointed at the Playback screen: “That’s definitely Super Shot #1.”
BURNING SKIES & THIGHS...
The pro glanced at her watch: “Sunset’s at 20:30, which gives us just over an hour to reach our vantage point,” she said. “Thankfully there’s parking at the foot of Cockit Hill, which is only a 10-minute drive. From there it’s a short but steep walk to the trig point atop Mynydd Llangorse.”
When the photographers reached their cars they spent a few minutes changing into walking boots. “Wow!” exclaimed Dave, “You scared the daylights out of me,” he said breathing heavily. Edyta laughed as a wild Welsh pony pulled its snout from the boot of the car: “He’s either a Nikon fan or he’s searching for food,” she chuckled.
By the time they reached the lay-by, gorgeous lighting was signalling the start
of golden hour. They stopped a few paces from the cars to marvel at the view of Llangorse Lake far below and the imposing Pen y Fan (the national park’s tallest peak) in the distance. “Feel free to start shooting,” said Edyta. “This is why I arrive at a location well before sunset.”
The high contrast meant that even with a graduated neutral density filter Dave was having difficulty balancing his exposure. “Let’s try a bracket,” said Edyta. “The pro had briefly touched upon bracketing at the Crannog Centre and this was Dave’s first chance to try it out for himself. He set up a three-shot bracket so he could expose for the shadows, midtones and highlights. “I’ve got to tell you, that’s completely changed the way I take photos,” he said. “For so long I’ve struggled in high-contrast situations. It’s a game-changer.”
The pair stopped intermittently as they climbed – sometimes to capture images and sometimes to capture a breather. Edyta demonstrated how to use ridge lines, rocky outcrops and even sheep as foreground interest. When they finally reached the trig point the ground evened out, and the walk to the vantage point
was much easier. “We’ve got a lot of thick cloud cover so it’s not quite as spectacular as I’d hoped,” said Edyta. “But that’s why landscape photographers return to locations time and again.”
OUT LATE, UP EARLY
The pro encouraged her Apprentice to use his camera’s histogram to check the highlights and shadows weren’t clipping: “If the graph touches the left side the shadows are clipped, and if it touches the right side the highlights are clipped.”
They settled on an aperture of f/8 to help prevent diffraction, while still capturing a suitably large depth of field. Once again Dave used an ND grad and a three-shot bracket to help mitigate the high contrast.
As the sun began to dip below the mountains, Super Shot #2 was in the bag. The next challenge was to descend the uneven terrain in the dark... Thankfully, the outdoorsy duo were well prepared and equipped with a head torch and flashlight. Back at the cars Edyta consulted a weather app: “Sunrise is at 05:50.
I’d recommend arriving at the location for 05:15 – we’d best get some sleep.”
They met the following morning in a car park just south of Llangattock village. It was a short uphill walk to their destination, Llangattock Escarpment. As they perched their tripods atop a sheer limestone cliff, they looked down upon a series of undulating hills (relics of a long-abandoned quarry) and sprawling views of the national park beyond. Research revealed the sun would rise directly behind the mounds below, and Edyta was hoping shadows would dance across the rolling terrain.
Dave reached for a filter, but Edyta encouraged him to leave it. “The sun hasn’t appeared yet, so there isn’t much contrast. I’d hold off.” A subtle pink hue illuminated the clouds, but the awe-inspiring sunrise the pair had hoped for didn’t materialize. Dave turned his attention to a lone tree behind their shooting position. “The light’s looking quite nice over there,” he said. Edyta agreed and they made their way further along the ridge.
Although sunrise had ended, the morning was far from over. A break in the clouds sent rays of golden light directly towards the photographers who were standing in front of another lone tree. “That’s the shot,” said Edyta as Dave hurriedly set up his tripod and attached a three-stop ND grad to his 18-105mm. “We need to find something to lead the viewer towards the sun,” she explained. “The ridge and the tree?” said Dave as he adjusted the tripod’s positioning. The pro
nodded with a smile: “Since we’re facing directly towards the sun you could go with an aperture of f/16 to create a sunburst.”
The Apprentice set his camera to shoot a bracket once again, but the direct sunlight was causing flare. “You can’t use a lens hood with a filter,” sighed Dave. “Just use your hand to shield the camera,” replied Edyta. It did the trick and the next few exposures were flare-free. While sunrise was a bit of a disappointment, golden hour had gifted the pair Super Shot #3.
FIGURE IT OUT
“Now we’ve got the light, let’s head back to the quarry,” said Edyta. What had looked uninspiring in flat lighting had since come alive. Golden rays kissed the ground and cast dark shadows across the mounds. The sun’s position meant the pair were forced to shoot at a 90-degree angle to the left of their original vantage point,
and this made it difficult to identify a discernible subject.
“Let’s try a telephoto focal length,” said the pro. Dave switched to his 55-300mm and admitted that he’d never thought of using longer focal lengths for landscapes. “Sometimes you need to get closer to identify a subject,” said Edyta. “Try that hill,” she said pointing at the tallest mound. “It needs something else...” N-photo editor Adam was enlisted to pose as a hiker, his vibrant jacket helping him pop against the background. Super Shot #4 was the easiest image to capture of the day. Dave simply focused on the figure and, without bracketing or a filter, captured his hiking subject in front of patchwork fields.
The pair drove back to the nearby Dragon Inn at Crickhowell to enjoy a well-deserved breakfast in the pub garden and review the shots. Edyta had just finished backing up Dave’s SD card when
the heavens opened. “No trip to Wales is complete without it,” he chuckled as they dashed back to their cars.
DAVE’S COMMENT
Edyta’s support was incredible. When I asked technical questions she answered them in a way I could understand. She taught me so much in such a short amount of time, and bracketing was a revelation that will change the way I shoot!
EDYTA’S VERDICT
Dave is so enthusiastic and committed – I couldn’t have asked for a better Apprentice. He has a good eye and instinctively uses techniques like leading lines. Bracketing has helped him combat high-contrast scenes and encouraged him to expand his editing skills too.