Favorite Photographs From The Conwy Valley, North Wales

Click all images to enlarge.

I’ve been very fortunate in my life – traveling to, and photographing in, just about 100 countries, often on my photo workshops.

I am often asked, “What was your favorite place?” I respond, “I have many favorite places, but one of my favorites is the Conwy Valley in North Wales, which I have explored on two occasions.” 

Here's why:

One: I love photographing horses, and the white horses of the Conwy Valley are some of the most beautiful horses I have encountered. You do need some luck, however, to find them  – and I had good luck on my 2012 and 2013 trips. 

Two: I like to photograph old churches and chapels. During my first visit I made one of my favorite HDR (high dynamic range) chapel photographs.

Three: I spent several hours photographing Conwy Castle on my first trip. It’s hard to run out of photo possibilities at this awesome location. There is also lots of history here for history buffs.

Four: If you like exploring and photographing waterfalls (and rivers and streams), the Conwy Valley is paradise. I made this photograph at a place called, Fairy Glen – and it’s featured in my new book, Creative Visualization for Photographers.  

Five: During both of my visits, I made my home – and felt at home – in Llanrwst. It’s a great walking city with lots of photo opportunities, as well as great restaurants. Llanrwst was our jumping off point for all the nearby sites. If you are looking to stay at a wonderful bed and breakfast check out the Meadowsweet Hotel. If you stay there, say hi to Nelson (the owner) for me.

 Six: The Conwy Valley is a landscape photographer’s paradise. This photograph from a mountaintop says it better than I can say in words. (To learn more about landscape photography, check out my on-line class: Master Landscape and Seascape Photography.  Save $10 with this code: landscapes.

Seven: I was the leader of  photo walks on my two visits. On both walks I made new friends, many of whom I keep in touch with on social media. Great fun and great groups! This is the group photo of my last group.

Here are some videos that I made during my visits to the Conway Valley:

Composition – the strongest way of see: 

Quick HDR Tip: 

Lenses for Landscape Photography 

Having Fun with Filters

How to Use Shadows

How to Photograph White Horses

Another Quick HDR Tip 

If you love new photo destinations, check out the beautiful Conwy Valley in North Wales. Hey! Maybe you’ll see me shooting there.

Explore the light,
Rick Sammon 

Five Ways to Learn Bird Photography

Like to photograph birds but need some help turning snapshots into great shots? Here are three options:

1 - Attend my free bird photography seminar on April 7 at 7 PM at Teatown Lake Reservation in Ossining, NY.

2- Check out my Master the Art and Craft of Bird Photography on-line class.

3 - Join my December Bosque del Apache, New Mexico photo workshop.

4 – Check out my Make Better Bird Photographs blog post, which features tips on sharpening, daylight fill-in flash and links to some educational videos.

5 – Read this post: Best lenses for bird photography.

Explore the light,
Rick

Woodstock Photo & Music Retreat Planned for Summer 2016

If you play guitar and take pictures (as I do) - and want to have a blast playing and photographing, this event is for you!

I am planning a summer 2016 photo & music retreat in Woodstock, New York. It's not like one of my standard photo workshops – where there is lots of photo instruction and processing time. Rather, the three-day weekend will focus on sharing music and photo ideas . . . while we are taking photographs and jammin'.

Videos with my friend/photographer/musician Chuck Pierce:
Samba Pa Ti
Summertime

Some of my fun music videos:
One Minute with My Martin
Landscapes & Seascapes
From Boring to Beautiful Chords
Developing Your Creative Vision

And speaking of Creative Vision, I'll be giving a seminar on that topic based around my new book, Creative Visualization for Photographers. I actually talk about how music relates to photography in the book.

From the publisher: "The difference between seeing and looking is essential—much like the difference, in music, between hearing and listening. In Creative Visualization, professional photographer, photo educator and photo instructor Rick Sammon presents his proven methodology for creative digital photography. His signature inspiring and motivating approach opens creative avenues for photographers in a variety of genres.

"With easy-to-follow examples, Sammon shows you how simple changes—with visualization, composition, post-processing, and more—can mean the difference between a snapshot and a great shot. This book, illustrated with more than 300 of Rick’s photographs, includes invaluable information about exposure, composition, subject choice, lighting, mood, and depth."

Shoot me an email if you'd like to get on the mailing list for this awesome event. I think the event will be popular, but I don't think you'll hear on the news: "The New York State Thruway is Closed, Man!"

That's Chuck Pierce playing with me after one of my seminars. He'll be at the Woodstock event - and you will be blown away by his talent!

Keep shooting and strumming,
Rick

P.S. Woodstock, the 1969 rock event, which I attended (I think), was actually not held in Woodstock. :-)

Sit Back, Relax and Enjoy Some Landscape and Seascape Photographs – and Mellow Guitar Music

I just put together a video featuring my favorite landscape and seascape photographs, along with some mellow guitar music that I've been playing lately. Open D tuning by the way.

If you want to learn about landscape and seascape photography, check out my on-line class, Master Landscape & Seascape Photography. Save $10 with this code: rs2015.

Explore the light,
Rick

Today's Guest Blogger Jim Hardiman Takes Us to Nova Scotia

 First, I want to thank Rick for inviting me to do a guest blog post.  I have taken several of Rick’s seminars and continue to learn from his teaching.  Recently, when talking with Rick I spoke about the photographic opportunities in Nova Scotia, Canada where I live.  So, Rick asked me to write a post about shooting in the beautiful province of Nova Scotia.

Nova Scotia is known as Canada’s Ocean Playground.  As a result, there are lighthouses - lots of them!  With over 160 in the province there is plenty to shoot and many of them are very accessible.  This image was shot in Five Islands.  I like to shoot on stormy days with angry-looking clouds where these structures look right at home.

Often with these older buildings I like to bring out all of the detail.  I usually do some micro-contrast adjustments and some creative sharpening.  I do this selectively as I do not want it applied to the clouds and other elements where sharpening would ruin the mood.

Lighthouses are best known for the warning that they provide to seafarers.  With the large lights this works best at night.  They make great subjects for light painting, or in this case shooting after dark with available light.  I love the rich blues that are captured with today’s digital cameras after dark.  This lighthouse is found in Cape Forchu, Yarmouth.

For the image above, which was shot in complete darkness, I made sure that I had long exposure noise reduction on in my camera.  I shot at the lowest possible ISO that would allow me to capture the image to reduce noise.  I also took advantage of a car parked off to the left to provide some light to the left of the lighthouse.  With lighthouses at night and long exposures, it is important to keep an eye on your histogram (or highlight warning - blinkies) to make sure that you have not blown out the highlights created by the large light on the lighthouse.  Oh, make sure that you have a small flashlight to make it easier to operate your camera in the dark.

The coastline of Nova Scotia varies from sandy beaches with some of the warmest saltwater north of the Carolinas (in the summer), to breathtaking rocky shores that defy the power of the ocean.  This shot was made in a small community on the Bay of Fundy called Baxters Harbour, where you will find the highest tides in the world.  To get a shot like this you must arrive during low tide and get right out on the ocean floor.  Taking the shot during sunset is also important to get the warm light that bathes this outcropping.

From one end of Nova Scotia to the other you will find quaint fishing villages which burst with colour.  The homes and fishing buildings are often painted with vibrant and varied colours.  This makes for unlimited interesting photographs.  This shot was taken in Stonehurst, a small community near Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.  The opportunities vary with both the light and the tides.  I took this shot at low tide which emphasized the structure supporting the building and created some interesting angles between the boat, the ramp and the red building.  It would look entirely different at high tide.

So there you have it, a quick idea of what there is to shoot in Nova Scotia.  It is a beautiful place with wonderful photographic opportunities. 

If you would like to learn more about me and my photography you can visit my web site where you will also find additional links to information about Nova Scotia.