Britain's Greatest Landscape Photographer, Joe Cornish, in the field

In this video I go hiking with my favourite landscape photographer, Joe Cornish. Joe goes through his technical and creative process at length and I discuss why I think he is Britain's greatest landscape photographer!
Obviously there can be no true greatest, but Joe's contribution to photography has been massive and for decades now he has been producing work at the very highest level. His compositional mastery is what elevates him into that top echelon. Hopefully you'll enjoy his thoughtful approach to image making.
My book on The Great Wilderness is now available for purchase:
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[@simongarratt6004]

Great video. I love the way Joe doesn’t shy away from the complex scene, he soaks it up and embraces it leaving the viewer to decide how deep they want to dive into the image.. over simplification and minimalism has almost become an abused method in todays landscape photography making novices shy away from scenes such as this when they should be embraced.. Joe’s ethos with grads is also a nice break from the conventional, instead using them to push and direct light around the frame rather than to simply balance sky vs land.. a method I wholeheartedly agree with… well done, it’s a great video..:-)

[@alexnail]

You’ve said it all, thanks Simon!

[@rickbowdentube]

Hi Simon, it's interesting to hear you say Joe's use of grads is a break from the conventional. I naively assumed what he was doing (balancing the light) was the convention. It's something that David Ward mentions in the Inspiring Professionals book, published by Lee in 2007.

[@alexnail]

@@rickbowdentube I think when people become experienced they might use grads like Joe. But less experienced photographers might not actually analyse where the brightness was in the image and in that case “darken the sky” seems a more obvious approach that is likely to produce good results in most situations.

[@rickbowdentube]

@@alexnail I think you're right. It's also probably a sign of the times and the advancements in camera dynamic range. Grads were an essential piece of equipment at one stage, but today not so much, although I still like to use them sometimes. There will probably be people out there who will never ever use a grad, and that's fine too.

[@alexnail]

@@rickbowdentube yes I’m one of them and I am sort of agnostic on them generally. Although I would say if you use them, make sure you know what you are doing, you can certainly permanently ruin an image with poor grad placement!

[@thomasphillips5850]

Joe, will never disappoint. Great video, I do enjoy working things out, and Joe does a spectacular job doing that ,thanks again

[@Guy_Washburn]

Absolutely the best. And not just of Britain.

[@mooskamoo]

Only met Joe once at his gallery in Yorkshire and he was an absolute gentleman. Despite being busy with something he was more than happy to talk to me and answer all my questions without any impatience, really nice guy. And as you say, a fantastic and special photographer.

[@alexnail]

Yes, he’s a lovely guy and rather unassuming. Which is why it’s kind of fun to describe him as ‘the best’, to him it’s a wind-up!

[@glynjones1582]

Absolutely. I did a workshop with him many years ago and at the end of the day he thanked me for sharing the experience with him.

[@glynjones1582]

Absolutely. I did a workshop with him many years ago and at the end of the day he thanked me for sharing the experience with him.

[@carlreid4161]

I just love listening to him talking through his comps and the care he takes never seems to be rushed and gives a calmness to his work.

[@alexnail]

Yes, quite the antidote to me rushing around like a lunatic at the peak of the light! Although to be fair we did have lots of time to be slow here!

[@jbairdexp]

Brilliant Alex, thank you for this video. I could just listen to Joe talk about his photography all day long. But to see him talk about one of his compositions in the field was super interesting. Thanks for sharing this.

[@alexnail]

My pleasure Julian, glad you enjoyed it and I hope everything is going well with you!

[@jbairdexp]

@@alexnail I also watched your recent video on composition which I took a lot from as well. Yes, all good here thanks. Not producing a lot of video content at the moment, but working hard on exploring new areas on Dartmoor. :-)

[@MagnusLindbom]

When Joe is talking every photographer who wants to learn should listen closely. What a great video Alex! Thank you for creating it!

[@asimeshpal]

Just adore the flow. A bliss listening to Joe explaining his thoughts .. Thank you and keep inspiring.

[@Prashant.Khapane]

Thanks for making this one Alex. I have been fortunate to speak with him during a conference and one of the thing about Joe is how warm and kind he is when speaking to people. There is nor air or superiority.

[@alexnail]

Absolutely!

[@briannewton9283]

A brilliant video, and fascinating to see Joe's thought processes that go into the creation of an image. He's definitely been right up there amongst my favourite photographers for quite some time now. Thank you!

[@pietermoolman8087]

Thanks for the video and the insight in how Joe compose a photo. he is one of the photographers that I admire and as a South African I rate him as an international icon.

[@alexnail]

I’ll have to tell him that he’s an international icon, that will make him cringe even more!

[@andrewherbert9938]

Good to see you back on KZbin Alex , great video

[@alexnail]

Thanks Andrew!

[@lphilpot01]

Joe's fantastic composition manages complexity and makes it work. Without a coherent composition, the complexity would be nothing but chaos. With his great composition it's endlessly interesting because despite the numerous elements it still works as a whole. Excellent video.

[@alexnail]

Thanks Len. There are some images in his book ‘Scotlands Mountains’ were he somehow manages to find order in broken scree. He’s certainly very good at managing complexity!

[@martinoberstein8431]

Thank you very much! This is a clever analysis of Mr Cornish‘s beautiful fotograph and a nice appreciation of his work.

[@klaus.bernhard]

This are one of the vety rare videos, with bring a lot of dephts with. Enjoy this experience, thks for showing this, lg Klaus

[@alexnail]

Really glad you enjoyed it Klaus. Joe is particularly good at talking about his process!

[@BrianNorthmorePhotography]

Great video, a real treat for us all, thanks for sharing, and looking forward to your upcoming videos

[@alexnail]

My pleasure Brian :)

[@rogerwalton8160]

Excellent! A tour-de-force.

[@pleatedskirt18]

Thank you. Thank you so much for taking photography back to what it should be about - composition and light. Nowadays, and particularly with the advent of digital cameras and mobile 'phones it has been reduced to a quick point-and-shoot, often taken as a 'selfie' with little or no thought as to the balance, composition or exposure. This wonderful video show just what goes into a shoot. In many ways, I also concentrate even more by going to black and white where the tonality plays as much a part as the aforementioned light and composition. Again, thank you.

[@MikeBellPhotographer]

This took me back to time spent on workshops with Joe. He is unrivalled in his mastery of complex scenes, something that has been rather overshadowed in recent years by the fashion for simplicity and ‘less is more’.

[@alexnail]

Yeah it’s certainly on trend to simplify these days. Sometimes to the point that all you are left with is a portfolio of textures. All these approaches have their place of course, but it’s would be nice to see people tackling complexity a bit more - maybe I will give it more of a go!

[@windleman1]

Fascinating watching, 5 days of this must have been great fun. Thanks for sharing, looking forward to you next batch of videos.

[@alexnail]

Yeah it was great to have an extended period to chat and also great to see Joe ‘do his thing’. Glad you enjoyed it!

[@johnchambers6272]

Excellent video Alex, thank you for sharing how Joe goes about achieving his brilliant images. Great to have you back again and looking forward to more of these types of videos from you.

[@alexnail]

My pleasure John. Hopefully a new video next week. I’m editing it today!

[@andrewfindlayphoto]

Nice to see you back. A great return with a interesting and informative video into the mind of Joe Cornish. 😃

[@alexnail]

Thanks Andrew!

[@Luigi13]

Joe's Cornish photography is to get it perfect in camera from what I saw. He works into the details of the scene and from experience he does understand what the light is doing as well. It all comes through experience and a lot of imagery. The final image is very well balanced and yes the detail is astonishing.

[@alexnail]

I think Joe likes to get his images as good as possible in camera but he also doesn’t shy away from colour and contrast work if he feels the image needs it. Thanks for the comment!

[@colinmclean2523]

That was really good. Fascinating to see Joe’s thought processes at work. I attended a landscape course with him in the NW in 2013 - probably the most influential days of my own career.

[@alexnail]

Yeah he’s a very clever man!

[@rickbowdentube]

Great video Alex, I love Joe's work and agree he is probably Britain's greatest landscape photographer, and was the first person to inspire me all those years ago.

[@alexnail]

Yep indeed! Before KZbin he was always the name that cropped up most when people were asked who their favourite photographer was.

[@lizzieshepherd3083]

Really enjoyed this, Alex - it's very rare I watch a KZbin video but listening to and watching Joe work in some of the best scenery in the UK has to be enough to tempt me! Completely agree with your summation as well - I think so many photographers fail to appreciate his brilliance in creating these kinds of landscapes because the end result looks so effortless and natural. As someone who has long enjoyed the more complex scenes, it's great to take inspiration from someone who excels at it - as you say, I don't think anyone does it better.

[@alexnail]

Yeah. To be honest I’m hoping I can drag him into the mountains more just so that he can produce more amazing work. I always loved his photos of the Scottish mountains the most, although he certainly more than manages with other subjects!

[@lizzieshepherd3083]

@@alexnail He certainly does... meant to say that it also made me think we must do some more camping in Scotland again - it's been ages! Had vague ideas about walking into that area at Christmas but we didn't make it nearly that far

[@michelebullock9867]

Really fascinating and educational. Thanks so much. Amazing how gear gets carried and makes me tired thinking about it.

[@mikeprince3851]

Splendid thank you. I'd love to see more like this.

[@alexnail]

I'm hoping Joe and I can get a hike in this winter and, if so, I will ask him again. Although I have to say, videoing Joe means I can't shoot myself, which is fine in summer, but a bit harder in those precious winter conditions (if they come!)

[@fafnorcal]

Exceptionally well done video. First, it is always a pleasure and a learning experience to see Joe Cornish in action. I continue to be in awe of his work and also his generosity with the photography community. Lastly Nail, you have added value to this video with your analysis. I do think you got it about right in showing the cropped image as what most photographers would have gone for. Well done!

[@alexnail]

Thanks Frank, it’s a pleasure to get to spend time with Joe!

[@keithtimmis]

Brilliant video! I love Joe's images and you help to explain what he's done perfectly.

[@alexnail]

Thanks very much Keith!

[@FaithandFun-w6q]

So beautiful. Thank you for sharing. 🥰

[@stephenlong1251]

Great video thanks Alex, great to see a master at work! Your analysis of the composition is always interesting too.

[@alexnail]

Thanks Stephen - it feels a little presumptuous if I’m honest. But I think it’s important to recognise that Joe isn’t good just because he’s been at it a long time. I think there are some pretty unique qualities to his photography that aren’t really talked about.

[@boristrouserkov]

Thanks Alex - I’m a big Joe Cornish fan. Classic JC image of warm colours and that feel of timelessness. Interesting to watch him compose & build the image.

[@alexnail]

Yeah “timeless” is a good work to use. It’s a difficult quality to capture!

[@eberlindavid]

Brilliant video, interesting and well presented.

[@elliswoodphoto]

Great video and wonderful insight into composition!!

[@johncarnahan4067]

Fantastic video thank you very much for sharing it It's a pleasure to see the way Joe works in the field especially the way he works with light and composition. Really enjoyed the video

[@alexnail]

Cheers John, glad you enjoyed it!

[@MRQirex]

Wonderful video Alex, so refreshing to see great photographers relying that much into the field instead of post-processing.

[@alexnail]

Thanks, I think that still applies to the majority of photographers, but certainly Joe is pretty straight laced in that regard!

[@peterkumble4093]

many thanks! I learned a lot from this and the breaking things down to slowly and carefully explain them is tremendously helpful!

[@PeterMcCabePhoto]

Highly enjoyable Alex, great to see Joe’s thought process in action. Like you, Joe has served as an inspiration since I first picked up a camera, his First Light book a true gem.

[@alexnail]

Yes indeed. Do you have Scotland’s Mountains? I think that’s his best book!

[@PeterMcCabePhoto]

@@alexnail Must check that out, I do however have his Scotlands Coast book.

[@joegraf697]

Thanks for this great video.

[@climbdive1165]

So good to see a highly accomplished Photographer at work managing organising and making artistic decisions about image/composition/lighting/timing/filters...that we all do. So pleasing to see Joe using grads which in my opinion have taken unnecessary flak over the last few years. The cruciale element here is the massive high res camera Joe uses, a breakdown of the kit seen here would be interesting. Now all we need is to see Joe editting an image.....now that would be fascinating. Great vid Alex

[@alexnail]

If you hunt around there are various videos of Joe editing on KZbin. Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@johnsmith1474]

The lens is high res, the high megapixel back adds little to nothing to the final product, certainly nothing you could discern at common very large print size.

[@iaincphotography6051]

A superb watch Alex and good to see Joe at work but to be fair I enjoyed your shot as well, as an ex climber I couldn't take my eyes off the rock face. I am lucky that the gallery is only 25 minutes away so I get to pop in at least once a month, it's also a great place to have a coffee and maybe a bit of cake.

[@alexsmith1104]

Thanks so much for this, Alex! Joe is a hero for me as well so this was a true treat to watch! Got heavily into 4x5 for many years because of his influence. The number of comments below that misunderstand the benefit of a view camera is staggering. You nailed it in one of your responses. The advantage of tilt/shift movements on DOF really only offsets the down sides of using the longer focal lengths needed for the larger capture area of a camera with a bigger sheet of film or digital sensor. A 16-24mm range on a full frame DSLR/mirrorless would be about a 58-90mm range on 4x5. So adequate dof (even with stopping down a fair ways) really requires throwing the plane of focus off parallel from the capture plane to even approach the native dof of a wide-angle lens on a smaller camera. The real advantage of his setup here is not regarding focus, but perspective control--emphasizing foreground elements, retaining vertical/horizontal parallel lines, etc. Anyway, many thanks again!

[@alexnail]

Thanks Alex. I recently recorded a podcast with Joe as well. You can find it on F-stop Collaborate and Listen (on KZbin and podcast platforms)

[@JeffreyTadlockPhotography]

Wonderful video. Great walkthrough of the image. Thanks!

[@alexnail]

Thanks Jeffrey!

[@CalebAllenPhoto]

Fantastic video! Thanks for sharing!

[@alexnail]

Thanks Caleb 🙏

[@michailxyntarakis1590]

One of the best videos that I have watched in the last month for those who love photography and appreciate cameras/lenses and not vice versa. I also watched your video on white balance. Given how informative they are, I may end up watching most/all your videos. Thank you!

[@alexnail]

My pleasure Michail!

[@MrPc11111]

Wonderful video and insight to a real master of photography Alex. Look forward to more videos in the future.

[@alexnail]

Thanks Paul :)

[@siark-photo]

Thanks for this very interesting video. To me it feels as though the picture is less about the destination (the subject if you will, which I would regard as the mountains), but the journey to that destination through all of the elements of the picture. For me, that is what makes the picture so interesting, it describes a journey, not solely the destination, so I'm experiencing the excitement, the anticipation, and the all of the questions a journey holds.

[@dominiclester3232]

Excellent, thank you!

[@JohanTalk]

Amazing!

[@thevalleywalker]

Great episode Alex, to take a trip with someone you look up to so much and get an insight into his thinking etc must have been like ticking something off a bucket list, lol. I love the way he conveys his images and having seen him do a few talks can say that he really is a master of the landscape.. and comes across as a lovely guy to boot. Great watch. atb Alan

[@alexnail]

Yeah, very much bucket list to be honest. In fact I was out in Fisherfield with a workshop group and it occurred to me just how much Joe would probably enjoy photographing in the area we were in. So on the way home I gave him a ring and he jumped at the chance. I think as he gets older he’s still happy to hike, but perhaps not for multiple days without someone else who knows what they are doing. Fortunately he’s also a very good hiker and once camp is up he floats up the hills!

[@ianbrowne9304]

Thank you ; that was really so interesting ; the dying art of view cameras instead the modern way of blazing away hoping to get an image that often needs or just gets far too much editing. What I would call "dedicated photography"

[@nageshwagh2476]

Would love to see this series extend with more Photographers

[@alexnail]

That would certainly be nice, but it’s difficult to arrange and not many photographers are as eloquent as Joe!

[@nageshwagh2476]

@@alexnail i understand, loved the concept. Keep up the good work

[@noreenoshea2883]

brilliant photo!

[@Spartan129]

Great vid Alex. Joe was my inspiration in the days of film. Really good to see him again.

[@alexnail]

As you can see he's still a very active photographer!

[@migoblue]

Just discovered your channel having been attracted by the catchy title. Excellent content and discussions accompany your presentations clearly worthy of many more subscribers. The selection of attention-getting titles and thumbnails do tend to attract viewers. A new subscriber here.

[@alexnail]

Yeah it’s just annoying producing ‘clickbait’ like that. In this case I actually believe what I’m saying, so it doesn’t bother me. But there is a KZbinr who just produced and editing video with the thumbnail saying “You’re being lied to” (the liars being other photographers on KZbin). It’s just so unnecessary. Lowest common denominator isn’t really how I like to do things!

[@derkarhu5079]

I think, given the kind of super-valuable discussion, that, if possible, you could have recorded the video out from the digital back, to allow us to see the continuing refinement of the image...I thonk that many of these backs have HDMI or wifi video output...maybe next time? Thanks!

[@glensumner3425]

I can never get enough of listening to Joe,

[@olivierdujardin8426]

I agree with your statement as 'greatest landscape photographer in the UK'. Joe got me started, I bought all his books and he has been such an inspiration. Joe, when is the next book?

[@alexnail]

Leave that to me to keep hassling him!

[@kronkite1530]

Really enjoyed this. He is very skilled - very proficient - has a great ‘eye’ and works for it. That patient set up and the effort to get to places that reward even though they aren’t a cake walk to get to. Of today’s British photographers hard to argue with your judgment… but don’t forget John Blakemore too! Oh, and Colin Prior.

[@alexnail]

Yes well some of it is personal taste too, I could add David Ward, Paul Wakefield, Charlie Waite and so on, but for me Joe is “classic” landscape, more so than the others, and since mountain photography is what I particularly enjoy, he just about edges out the others!

[@kronkite1530]

@@alexnail I take your point. But mountains and Colin Prior?! I attended a seminar by him back when he was catching on through the BA calendars etc. which I collected at every opportunity. Now have his book of Himalayan photographs too which is wonderful. I also attended a seminar by Charlie Waite. I wonder if sometimes people like him fall out of favour a bit due to the amount of exposure they have and the time span they cover?

[@alexnail]

@@kronkite1530 yeah look I don’t really want to argue against certain iconic photographers on a public forum that would be grossly disrespectful, but there are reasons I personally prefer Joe’s work! Colin’s significance to UK Landscape Photography is also colossal!

[@kronkite1530]

@@alexnail I wasn't intending to start an argument - had already said your views were hard to argue with etc. just wanted to mention a couple of our greatest photographers lest they be forgotten.

[@alexnail]

@@kronkite1530 oh I know you weren’t trying to argue, I was just saying I didn’t want to land myself in hot water!

[@pleatedskirt18]

God, I miss being out there taking photographs, Still, my knee is nearly better, and then its back out on Dartmoor for autumn and the ever changing colours. D810, 24 PC-E and Lee filters, OR, a full kit of two bodies, oodles of lenses, filters, exposure meters, dark clothes etc... I shall keep it simple.

[@javieretchegoyen4609]

exelente video saludos cordiales desde Montevideo Uruguay

[@johndwilliams]

Just getting into using a tilt/shift lens and fascinated to see it in use in landscape photography. Seems to be the open secret that is rarely talked about by top photographers.

[@alexnail]

Well I think you have to be quite particularly in your requirements to care about the difference in landscape if you are shooting 35mm. The practical depth of field is so much greater that tilt is rarely needed and when it is you can focus bracket. There really isn’t much you can’t achieve now, but for those looking for the ultimate ‘single frame’ Joe’s method (and camera!) is probably best

[@gchristopherklug]

@@alexnail What kind of camera is that?

[@mike747436]

Good video. It was interesting to hear him say he likes to embrace the complexity in the landscape. I find that I am nearly always trying to simplify my compositions, ideally to the point where there are perhaps 2 or maybe 3 elements that balance each other in an otherwise neutral or non distracting scene. My preference is for b&w and square format, so perhaps that influences my choices.

[@alexnail]

There’s certainly no right answer and it comes down to personal preference. There is a bit of a trend towards more graphic images at the moment as well, which naturally influences people.

[@DanCarr]

Great stuff!!

[@davidskinner274]

Thank you...

[@robintaylor-hunt5875]

A very interesting video, thank you!

[@alexnail]

My pleasure

[@salgarni818]

Thank you

[@pipari21]

That's some next level stuff right there. I hope to see more videos from your trip soon.

[@alexnail]

I only recorded one more short video from this trip which I *probably* won’t put up simply because the light wasn’t up to much and I have a big backlog!

[@pipari21]

@@alexnail Thats too bad. However, I just found your channel and after only two videos, I'm hooked. Thanks for the great videos and photos :)

[@derkarhu5079]

Again, at 17:00, you mention the bsck shift, but this is also achievable with Canon T/S lenses, and you can get adapters for Canon EF lenses for your favourite mirrorless body...

[@tonygaskins565]

Excellent video, thanks for doing it Alex. I share your opinion about Joe. I've read and studied Joe's thoughts and approach to composition and this was one of the most informative pieces I've encountered. It was fascinating to have an insight into such a complex composition and how the challenges were mitigated. By the way yiur not a half bad photographer too

[@alexnail]

Thanks Tony, really glad you enjoyed it and cheers for the kind words about my own photography!

[@tjmanou6422]

awesome video. thank you so much

[@derkarhu5079]

I'm only halfway into the video, but at about 09:30 is the only allusion to lens/body tilt to achieve end-to-end focus...I am seeing so many videos where landscape photographers are at f:16, or focus stacking, and ISO 1000, to get depth of field, when a tilt/shift lens would allow them to maintain perspective, and 'infinite' DOF...Yes, they do cost, but so does all of the top level gear ;-)

[@alexnail]

I’ve pretty much never seen a landscape photographer on KZbin or anywhere else shoot at ISO1000 and f/16. I certainly haven’t. Focus stacking is also easier with modern cameras than it used to be (they do it automatically) so the quality you can achieve stacking at f8 with a scene that doesn’t have motion is exceptional, and higher than you could get with a tilt shift in some cases. Either way these are all valid techniques and a means to an end, so I don’t give it too much thought.

[@PictureSizeDoesMatter]

Excellent. Thank you

[@chriscard6544]

awesome video, thank you

[@stevep2430]

For some reason I could see more layers than what you were pointing out. To think he didn't think it was much of a photo.

[@alexnail]

There are certainly layers on layers there but where do you stop! And yes, in his interview with Tim he says something to the effect of “it’s a perfectly adequate photo”

[@glynjones1582]

Great video. Like all true experts he makes it look and sound so easy, when it’s actually incredibly difficult to do well. I’d echo your comment about visiting his gallery and if you get a chance see the joint exhibition he’s done with Simon Baxter. A wonderful way to pass and hour or two

[@alexnail]

Yeah the funny thing about making something hard look easy is you can only get to that point via a lot of hard work!

[@blp9724]

Thank u very much. Wonderful video…especially valuable to hear the creative process articulated. Can u give details of the gear he is using pls?

[@alexnail]

Thanks. He talks about his setup in other videos. I can’t remember what the camera is, but the back is a Phase One IQ4 150MP

[@alexslobodkin671]

Great!!!

[@MatthiasHaltenhof]

Super interesting insights, thank you very much!

[@alexnail]

Joe certainly understands photography!

[@alanmorton1370]

Some say you should never meet your heroes... I'd love to hear what you will now be incorporating into your composition after this master class? I've been to Joe's gallery a couple of times and may go back this week as I'm down in Teesside at the moment. Great to hear that you've mastered the pronunciation of gneiss at last!! As always, looking forward to your next video.

[@alexnail]

There were a few ideas that I think I might pursue a bit more when the opportunity presents itself. Particularly with regard to actively pursuing complexity. The difficulty is I do have different aesthetic preferences, I’m not going to shoot differently overnight, because a lot of what I do might be simple, but I also think it achieves what I want…..It’s always nice to have new input like this though!

[@alanmorton1370]

@@alexnail Yes, I did wonder that given your styles are quite different. Like you I very much admire Joe's work but would not try to cope with such a complex scene as this. Cross pollenating or just cherry-picking the ideas you can use is what I'd see as the greatest benefit. Thanks for another great video Alex and for taking the time to reply.

[@rattyboots]

Great content, as ever, Alex. Would be great to find out more details about Joe's set-up. Particularly the head he uses seems to give him a wealth of options and fine control. I'm not about to rush out and buy one though :o) Joe really does seem to connect the void between the technical and the artistic elements, to achieve his end result.

[@alexnail]

Yeah the ballhead is an Arca Swiss Cube, they are about £1200, but incredible engineering and lovely to use. They are heavy though and not the best for hiking. Joe had a bit of assistance from his son with some of the gear, although he certainly carried lots himself!

[@simon5665]

I thought for a second you were shooting with Micheal Kenna with an accolade like that.

[@alexnail]

It’s a subjective thing. Michaels work is extremely stylistic usually long exposure black and white so I don’t really see it as a classic form of landscape photography, though he is certainly a landscape photographer! I have to say whilst you might not know much about Joe, it is a fairly widely held opinion, though it is just that, an opinion.

[@kennymuir1019]

Excellent video Alex. Great to get some insight into Joe’s approach to a scene and his ability to take on some much complexity. My first thought was how is he going to get all of it sharp with such a large sensor. Still don’t fully understand but an excellent end result. Calendar arrived yesterday!

[@alexnail]

The camera movements allow you to tilt the focus plane to align with the landscape (as opposed to being vertical). Then stopping the aperture down increases the depth of field up and down as opposed to forward and back (although the depth of field increases less close to camera so effectively you end up with a sharpness wedge - small at the front, massive at the back). Glad you enjoyed it Kenny and cheers for buying the calendar!

[@kennymuir1019]

@@alexnail Thank you for taking the time to explain - really interesting. I suspect your engineering background makes it easier to grasp these things. Calendar looks brilliant as expected.

[@alexnail]

@@kennymuir1019 yeah the engineering helps for sure! Glad you like the calendar!

[@andrewcroft2570]

Stunning image, as a complete novice I've only had a used DSLR for 2 weeks now, please forgive my ignorance but couldn't that picture be taken on a 16x9 using a wide-angle lens. And additionally what kind of camera is Joe using, please?

[@HeyHey-qp9eh]

Why there’s no center column? Any idea to share?

[@dcallan812]

Joe is such a nice guy. I met him a couple of time on Saltburn beach and he gave me a few pointers. His gallery over in Northallerton is worth a run over the NY,moors for too. Great Video 2x👍

[@alexnail]

Yeah he’s a lovely chap! Thanks for the comment :)

[@RobbieMaynardCreates]

Just out of curiosity - is that a phase one medium format back? What is the image size its taking? 2x3?

[@alexnail]

Yes it is a Phase One XF IQ4 150MP digital back. The image resolution is 14204 x 10652.

[@seth.graham]

Watching the legends work always generates more questions than answers.. how long did it take him to find that composition? He's clearly fine tuning it as you film so it wasn't automatic, but I'm curious if he saw the spot immediately or if he had to work the scene for a while before discovering it.

[@alexnail]

You can see him wandering around at the top of the hill at the start. I think after generally exploring the area he settled on that spot fairly quickly and whilst he tweaked his idea (as you saw) I think the fundamentals were in place before he even set up. But I don’t actually think that is particularly unusual - exploring a small area relatively fast without a camera and then quickly solving a general puzzle is I think how many top photographers shoot.

[@gaetanog.105]

Sometimes saw some people with uv filters to avoid damage on lens coating. I took my pics with iPhone and i was to improved because the lenses doesn‘t covers much wide angle….

[@colinmclean2523]

Anyone know a source for a protective pouch for a Manfrotto Junior geared head?

[@alexnail]

I’m afraid I can’t help there Colin. I have to say I just bash my tripods up!

[@stefanogelliphotography]

Hi Alex, I don't speak English and I would know what kind of equipment Joe used. Camera and lens. Thank you so much!

[@christiangrant6837]

Hi! 📺

[@jpdj2715]

The point of "level" and "shift" is often related to converging lines and that may be important in architecture. In landscape photography, in absence of clear vertical lines in the subject we tend not to see the converging. However tilting the camera up or down compresses height in the resulting image and in our perception. And that's what makes photos weird, subconsciously. As the lens used here has a very wide image circle, there is ample space for the tilt adjustment within that circle - that is a special design that mere 35mm mortals don't have in their lenses. And even expensive 35mm camera brand tilt or tilt/shift lenses do not have this large adjustment potential. If we want to get a similar effect as Cornish with his medium format (*) Phase One back, the (probably) Schneider lens, and the camera thing between lens and back, but with more affordable kit like a 35mm camera and relatively simple lens, then that is perfectly possible. The buzzword here is "panorama". We start with a relatively wide wide-angle lens and camera. Between leveling tripod head and camera we now need a nodal slide. Place the camera vertically (portrait) and "level" in all axes. The wide angle gives us the foreground that we want as per Cornish example. First we figure out our lens's nodal point (**) - this makes stitching in post easier. Now we shoot the constituent frames. In LrC or Ps we stitch them into one image. And we crop away part of the sky that we don't want/need. If stitching in LrC does not work out, then we probable did not do the nodal point correctly - Ps can probably still sort it out in a (simple but very) clever way. I strongly advise however to find the nodal point for your prime lenses and note it all down. Also, make sure that focusing at another distance than you used in determining the nodal point, does not change the nodal point - because it might. (*) old school: if it fits on 127 film (40mm wide - 1.575") then it's "small format". If it's about 9cm x 12cm (3.5"*4.7") or larger then it is "large format". Anything in between is medium format. Or, most of what is called "medium format by marketers today is actually small format History: what we call "full frame" started at Leitz where a Mr. Barnack had to develop a camera to test shoot 35mm wide movie film for sensitivity and desired development/processing. The normal frame size was 24mm wide and 18mm high - serious size perforation left and right of the image was there to facilitate projection at 24 fps. That frame was too small to assess test shots (stills) and so Barnack doubled the size to 24x36 and rotated the film 90 degrees (so it runs horizontally). Which explains why the Leitz cameras (Leica) got advertised as "double frame" before WW2. (**) the nodal point of a camera/lens combination is the imaginary pivotal point where optically - geometrically - the image is converted. If we rotate with that point as axis, then we get perfectly overlapping foregrounds between shots. Assuming lenses that do not distort.

[@alexnail]

Yes, the method you describe is one work around, but it comes with its own issues. Whilst putting the horizon in the middle of the frame and panning around the horizontal plane (in portrait format) would indeed get you part of the way there, you still need to apply a rectilinear correction (unless you had luck with this in your stitch program, I generally don't!). Even with a 50mp camera, were you to say crop 20% off for the sky, you end up with a vertical dimension of 6,500px vs 10,500px for the Phase. If you kept the same 4x5 ratio that gives you an image of 54mp, vs 150mp for the Phase. So then you could try tiling, but then as you know the nodal point would change with pitch, so you would have to have a full panorama setup... and so on. Really to practically achieve an image that is the equal of Joe's in both quality and geometry is pretty tricky. Fortunately as you elude to, in the landscape it doesn't generally matter because you don't have many recognisable geometrical relationships (reflections and pine trees being some exceptions). Good to know some definitions around format. I must admit I wasnt sure on the classification, nor did I think to check. I just knew the sensor was far larger than some of the sensors marketed as medium format!

[@jpdj2715]

@@alexnail - appreciate your answer. Thank you. If you tried panorama stitching and it didn't work then either you had a big foreground nodal point problem or your lens has serious field curvature. LrC has corrections for field curvature for many, not all, lenses and Adobe had a tool for DIY creation of a correction file for a so far unsupported lens (in some cases, the correction function for as lens comes with raw shots in the meta-data). Or both. If you apply "distortion correction" somewhere before Ps then take images into Ps, you should be fine. MP have nothing to do with this. More means there's more refined correction potential but not by a lot. Note that MP are an area number (2nd power) but human perception relates to linear comparison. If you have a sensor X*Y=MP then two times linear (better, larger, more resolution) means 2X*2Y=4MP. So 96MP is twice as good as 24 (ceteris paribus).

[@alexnail]

@@jpdj2715 I've been stitching panoramas for 16 years now, so I know my way around the various ins and outs of the many programs I have used in their time and have a good understanding of the various transforms. I think you misunderstood my point, but either way, the difference is a somewhat minor one. Ultimately neither rectilinear nor spherical can maintain both the shape and scale of subjects away from the centre. That is just the nature of transforming a spherical view onto a flat plane. Again, you misunderstood my point around megapixels. I was simply saying that matching Joe's image for resolution would be a stretch with the method you describe, because there IS a very noticeable difference between a 60MP image and a 150MP one!

[@johnsmith1474]

Nice technique, quite a bit less nice composition but these over complex scenes are just that way. The out of focus midground suggests a smaller sensor would be wiser, you'd still get the same image quality out of half the pixels.

[@alexnail]

I’ll pass your advice on to Joe!

[@lenslifeimages]

Very nice 👍

[@TheDrYamo]

Great shot 👍🏼what's the name of the mountain?

[@alexnail]

On the left is Beinn Lair

[@derkarhu5079]

Never used grads? My good man, where have you been living? Well, ok, photographers "today" seem to depend on post-processing, but grads allow one to get as much out of dynamic range as possible, AND, allow you to see, in-camera, the effects of the 'gradient mask' in real-time, and eliminate a lot of extra post-processing work. The wide range of grads available give a myriad of options for dealing with "impossible" lighting, while eliminating problems caused by multiple exposure temporal shifts...but, hey, I'm just some unknown old guy...

[@arttyree4504]

Alex, which make/model camera is Joe shooting with there?

[@harmenvanwelbergen4224]

What camera is he using?