Photo Stories
After a commission from the National Trust, Justin Minns turns meanders on his local river into a stunning series
Sunrise meanders on the River Stour and childhood hiking memories make for a serene collection of Canon portfolios
As the River Stour meanders through cattle-grazed meadows along the Essex/suffolk border towards the North Sea, it passes through the Dedham Vale, an area of outstanding natural beauty, also known as Constable Country after the artist John Constable, whose romantic
landscapes put the area on the map.
Constable said of the Vale, “I should paint my own places best” and this resonates with me. I grew up a stone’s throw from here and still live in the area, so with my interest in landscape photography, it makes sense to shoot what’s on my doorstep.
I’ve spent many hours along this river with my camera but
when I was recently commissioned by the National Trust to photograph the area, my random walks along the river became focused into a project. The scope of the work was too large to try to cram into this article, so I’ve focused on a slice of it, in the shape of the twisted ancient willows and oaks that you see here.
Although I was keen to use similar compositions to show how the landscape changes with the seasons, it’s all too easy when shooting the same location frequently to go on autopilot and end up being repetitive, so it’s important to try to keep the images looking fresh, and challenge yourself to find new views and different compositions.
Another challenge was capturing the area in the best lighting. The landscape changes drastically between dawn and dusk, so, I use various apps to help work out the best time of day or year to photograph a location. But there really is no substitute for learning from experience, by getting out with the camera as often as possible and seeing for yourself where the sun rises and the light falls.
Most of my photography is done in the hours around sunrise or sunset, but for this project, it was almost entirely at sunrise. It can be magical here at dawn; the water is often calm and the river and water meadows shrouded in mist, or trees are thick with frost. Of course, not every trip results in perfect conditions, and it would be boring if it did, but when it does all come together, the atmosphere that conditions like these add to the images make the early starts worth the effort.
It’s all too easy when shooting the same location frequently to go on autopilot and end up being repetitive