Images that Persuade - National Trust
Mountain Biking
Pre Visualisation
I unfortunately wasn't able to meet up with Matt Snape as he was expecting his child to be born so couldn't put the time aside.
I instead decided to get in contact with a couple of local riders in the Surrey area.
I started by tagging along on a ride they had already arranged at S4P bike park. I wasn't sure this would be an ideal location for this project as the bike park just consists of big dirt jumps however, decided to go along anyway as it was a new experience for me because I haven't shot this type of riding before.
I really enjoyed shooting at this location. It was very different to the type of riding that I'm used shooting so was a good challenge. It also allowed me to get to know Oli and Andy more as well as meet some new people.
I'm particularly happy with these two images. For the first image I used a puddle to capture a reflection of the rider doing a trick on the jump. I'm really happy with how the image came out and I think the crop could work well for the poster.
For the second image I used a tree branch and backside of a jump to frame the rider mid jump. I like the range of depth and colour in this image and the way the bike stands out due to the light on it.
I'd like to use one of these images for the poster but I'm unsure as to whether this type of riding fits in with the National Trust ethos.
After the shoot at S4P I arranged another shoot with Oli at Peaslake in the Surrey Hills. I felt that this forest environment would suit the brief better as it is more in line with the National Trust ethos. Andy ended up not being able to make this shoot but Oli brought along a friend so I still had two riders to shoot.
This shoot also went really well. Oli and Dan know the area really well so took me to a load of good spots. I managed to get some shots that I'm happy with in a variety of environments. I also got some detail and portraits with the small images boxes on the posters in mind. I also shot a lot more in portrait that I usually would in order to have more portrait options for the posters.
These are the final selects I made for the poster. There are quite a few options so I'll have to play around with them in the layouts to see what I feel works best.
1 - I think this image works well. The framing of the tree works well to frame the rider as well as the small image boxes. However, the small image boxes don't stand out very well from the background.
2 - This image fits well in to the layout and the small image boxes stand out a lot better on this background. However, I think that the image itself isn't that interesting and most of the bike can't be seen.
3 - This image sits well in the layout and the green of the shrubs contrasts the smaller images well. However, I think this image just isn't that interesting.
4 - I like this image and it suits the National Trust ethos as a rider of any level could attempt something like this. The tree on the right of the image also works well to separate the smaller image boxes. However, I think the light in this image is quite flat and uninteresting.
5 - I really like this image. I was really happy with it when I first captured it and I think it works really well with this layout. However, I didn't have many good options for the small image boxes from this shoot and I don't think having a rider on a big jump suits the National Trust ethos.
6 - I also really like this image as I managed to get a good reflection from the puddle and it's something I haven't tried before. However, it suffers from the same issues as option 5.
This is the final poster that I submitted. I chose this option as I really like the image and I think it fits the layout well. The small images could stand out better but I think these would be challenging no matter what so I considered the main image as a priority.
I think this is a poster that would catch people's eyes and make them want to get out on their bike.
Hiking
Pre Visualisation
I set the date for my Brecon Beacons hike as Wednesday 25th March as it seemed that the weather was going to take a turn for the better and being on easter break would give me more time to put aside for it.
It was indeed sunny that day but at that point the UK had unfortunately gone in to full lock down due to covid-19 with all non-essential travel being banned, thus making it irresponsible for me to still make this trip.
I was really disappointed that I couldn't do this hike as it would have been a great experience in itself as well as a new way for me to challenge my photographic ability. I definitely want to still make this trip once the travel restrictions have been removed.
I decided to make the most of my one exercise a day and go on a walk around a local common that's within walking distance of where I'm isolating. This of course was no where near the scale of the Brecon Beacons hike I had planned but it was nice to get some photos none the less.
I brought my girlfriend, who I'm also isolating with, along to model for me. We had a limited choice of clothing so she wasn't wearing the ideal clothes for the shoot but I filled my camera bag and got her to wear that as well to make it look like she was on an actual hike.
I also felt quite restricted as I only had a 50mm lens to shoot on which made it more difficult to capture the landscape how I wanted to. It would have been ideal to have a 16-35mm or 24-70mm lens to capture some wider angle shots that encapsulated more of the landscape.
However, I'm quite pleased with some of the images despite it not being what I had originally planned. There were lots of the yellow flowers around which came out really nicely on the camera. There was also some other types of landscapes such as woods and a bit of water to add a bit more diversity to the shots. I plan to use these images and maybe some of the images from Cheddar Gorge recce in order to still have something to put together for the brochure.
When putting together the layout with these images, I tried including some from my Cheddar Gorge recce. I put one of the landscapes I had taken in the large image box as it was closer to the image I had pre visualised. I also used a couple of detail shots in the small image boxes. However, I think these images look at of place as they don't really work together with the images from my other shoot. Therefore, I'm going to just use images from the other shoot for the whole layout.
This is the final brochure that I submitted. It's not what I had originally planned, as you can see from my pre visualisation, but I think the images work fairly well. I like the summer vibes and the yellow tones from the flowers.
I don't think the large image works very well though. That image was my only real option from the shoot as it was hard to capture something for that image size without a wide angle lens. I also had to do a bit of heavier retouching on the t shirt as it had 'merde' written on it which is explicit in French. This was an oversight on my part when preparing for the shoot as that wouldn't be appropriate for a National Trust brochure but luckily it was a quick fix in photoshop.
Surfing
The Swansea Surf Society had a trip to The Wave in Bristol planned for 23rd March which they were happy for me to take photos at. The Wave is a reasonably new inland surfing centre which is one of the few places like this in the UK.
I called ahead to The Wave to ensure they would be ok with taking photos and got the all clear form them as well some more information about the centre.
I knew this might not be an ideal location for the main photos as it wouldn't have the landscape of a real beach but it would serve as a good test shoot as well as giving me a chance to get to know some members of the society prior to the next trip to a beach which we were planning for later that week depending on weather.
However, this trip unfortunately had to be cancelled a few days before because of The Wave having to close due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
The Covid-19 outbreak also means that I now most likely won't be able to shoot at all with the Society as universities are now closed so they won't be able to run the society as usual.
Pre Visualisation
You can see from my pre visualisation what I was hoping to capture. I imagined a shot of a surfer riding a wave, most likely shot from the side, while incorporating the landscape of the beach. I would have probably used a 70-200mm lens to capture this as I would have been quite far away from the subject.
For the smaller images I thought of a few options such as details shots of the surf board, a portrait of the surfer, detail shots of the landscape and the surfer/surfers walking with their surf boards.
It was hard to pre visualise this as it's something I've never shot before and a sport that I don't have any experience in. I think the final images could have been different to this sketch as they would have depended on how I could shoot and what inspired I picked up once I was actually out there but this is what I initially imagined.
Climbing
I was planning to shoot one of the Swansea Mountaineering Club's weekly climbing sessions on the 25th March as it would be an outdoor session.
However, this session and future sessions were cancelled until further notice due to the Covid-19 restrictions.
Pre Visualisation
This was my pre visualisation for climbing. I imagined getting an image of a climber on a wall from a low angle. This would probably be shot with a wide angle lens in order to show the scale of the wall.
The rest of the composition would depend on if I was shooting bouldering or rock climbing. If it was bouldering then i would focus in more on the person as it would likely be a smaller wall. If it was rock climbing then I could use the ropes coming down in the frame in order to have leading lines into the subject.
For the smaller images, I had few idea such as chalk on hands, the ropes/belays, a portrait of the climber, detail shots of the wall/landscape and the climber taking a break.
Coasteering
I unfortuanetely wasn't able to arrange anything with TYF adventures before they had to close due to the Covid-19 restrictions.
This is a real shame as I was really looking forward to shooting there. I hope that I can still shoot there once the restrictions have been lifted.
Pre Visualisation
This was my pre visualisation for coasteering which shows what I was hoping to capture. This was also hard to pre visualise as it's another sport that I've never done myself and never shot before. I mainly used the photos that I got for inspiration as a basis for this. I imagined getting a shot of someone jumping from a cliff into water as this is the main part of coasteering.
How this shot was framed would depend where I was able to stand. The best angle would probably have been from the water but I wouldn't have had the appropriate equipment to get a shot from water. I therefore would have probably been shooting from the side using a wide angle lens to capture the whole scene including the landscape.
Final Invoice
This would be my final invoice for the shooting I was able to do. This includes 2 days of shooting, travelling to the mountain biking location, lens rental and 1 year of usage.
Final Analysis
Overall, I think this project had a lot of potential but unfortunately the small issue of a global pandemic put a big spanner in the works. I'm glad that I was still able to put together some content to submit, even if it's not what I originally had planned. I am also really happy with my mountain bike poster as I think the main image is strong and fits the layout well.
I'm disappointed that I wasn't able to get out and shoot as I put a lot of planning in and found what I think would have been good locations for all of the shoots. This experience has definitely taught me that I should try to get out and shoot as soon as possible as I don't know what obstacles I might face further down the line.
I hope to still do these shoot that I had planned as I think they would all be a great experience and potentially produce some different portfolio images for me. I am even considering continuing a project along the lines of outdoor sports in the UK for my FMP as there are so many amazing locations for it.
