PHOTOGRAPHING HEATHER - Lake District Landscape Photography

[@ralphwatson7036]

Z-7, yes! Already a fan of your channel, but it will be even better for me, watching you with Nikon mirrorless. Looking forward to heather in full bloom under cloudy skies...

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Cheers Ralph yep looking forward to using it should be here in a few days

[@barrycarter5504]

Final image really works Stu, enjoying this channel and love the outdoor approach

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Cheers buddy thanks for watching

[@garyleveroutdoorphotograph558]

Another great vlog Stuart,great how you don’t sugar coat everything.good luck with the z7.

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Thanks Gary yeah looking forward to it (still haven’t ordered it lol though I will be!)

[@watsoncrawford9671]

Another informative account of how you manage to capture very good images from less than perfect conditions. I think the secret to your photography Stuart, is that you have the ability to see a good composition and work it to your advantage when most photographers would pass it by. You are also expert at capturing the light and bringing the best out of a scene. You definitely achieve a glow in your shots. I hadn’t been thinking of shooting some heather shots but will give it a go now having watched your vlog. You had recommended Walla Crag to me on a shoot with you. It’s definitely worth a visit. Great scenery. Keep up the good work.

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Cheers mate appreciate that, thanks for watching👍 hope you’re well

[@DalesTramper58]

A no nonsense nice vlog Stuart, only recently found your channel & your a breath of fresh air, keep it up. Well Done.

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Thanks very much

[@damianharrison9807]

Nicely done mate.. Enjoyed watching this 👍

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Cheers mate

[@garystone6583]

stunning images you managed on this video Stuart. think ill be going through all your videos from start to finish. really enjoying what you do.

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Thanks very much Gary glad you’re enjoying them

[@garystone6583]

@@StuartMcGlennon very much so Stuart

[@DarrenKnightPhoto]

Hi Stuart, I just wanted to say how much I’m enjoying your channel, especially your last video on prints. Take care bud and keep them coming 🍺

[@StuartMcGlennon]

No worries mate appreciate that 👍

[@WhenLeeIsFree]

Here from the Cumbria Photography FB group. Lovely drone work and a great video. Thanks for the stacking tip!

[@StuartMcGlennon]

No probs mate thanks for watching 👍

[@andyjsmith1981]

Love the last image Stuart, I think more than the first! Can't wait to get back to the UK and shoot some heather next week! All the best, Andy

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Cheers a Andy yeah should be peak colour next week, hope you got my email btw

[@andyjsmith1981]

@@StuartMcGlennon I am in Poland at the mo and haven't got access to emails, phone is playing up, back Wednesday next week so will check! 👍

[@willbo2000]

Great Stuart, I reckon you could have taken that runner, even with your bags n stuff! fantastic shots (particularly liked the last one with the contrasting green ferns) - Keep em coming 👍

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Cheers mate aye he crept up on me I’d have had him otherwise! Yep I preferred the fern one also

[@tompetersphotography]

Nice vlog mate some lovely shots👍🏻

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Cheers Tom

[@scotty4418]

Lovely work Stuart, the colours were beautiful. All the best with your new camera when you get it

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Thanks mate much appreciated

[@JamieOverland]

Was up on Walla last week, lovely views as you say. Sorry I didn’t get chance to pop in and say hello, the family had other plans. Nice couple of images there Stuart

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Cheers Jamie yep it’s a lovely walk up there, probably return in a week or so, hope you enjoyed your visit

[@mta00jtl]

Great vlog mate. May take Jo up there later this week or early next. Looked nice and quiet!

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Yeah nice easy walk up as you know

[@AndrewHamiltonPhotography]

Great to follow your adventure and recce up Walla Crag and have wished I’d kept my mouth shut many a time too !! Always good to scout out locations and return when the conditions play ball albeit still coming away with a good image. Good shout on the Z7 mate 👍🏻👍🏻

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Cheers pal yeah looking forward to getting started with the z7

[@glennjudge1]

Hi Stuart. Really enjoying your channel. I’m staying at the campsite at Castlerigg Farm (on your drone footage) at the moment caught a lovely sunset this evening at the same location you were. You’re right that a single image cropped pano works best. Thanks for your advice.

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Ah cheers Glenn hope you’re enjoying yourself weathers been superb for a camping break - great views from that campsite indeed 👍

[@dalesutherland-roberts2593]

Great video Stuart, good to see the reality of landscape photography represented, and you still came away with two photographs to be pleased with. Re, the dead shrub, looks like a bit of dead heather. Dale

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Cheers Dale yep I won't sugar coat it that's for sure - when i was putting it together in post it was obvious it's just dead heather lol! Cheers for watching

[@Minch35]

I’m really enjoying watching these. I find it interesting following the thought process that people go through. It helps to sometime look at an area or image differently. Thanks and keep them coming...

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Cheers Aidan glad you enjoyed it :-)

[@StarrDaniel]

Wow

[@StuartMcGlennon]

👍👍

[@glynjones1582]

Another great vlog, and love the final image with the fern. I was wondering if this was from Saturday as I was up Latrigg to shoot some Astro stuff that night - lovely clear night for it, but surprisingly windy

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Cheers mate was Sunday night actually, yeah I preferred the fern image also 👍

[@mickcarr5031]

nice one Stuart, waiting on the heather here in Dumfries area too, had a roam about last weekend but still a week or two away I think. cheers.

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Thanks Mick yeah as ever it’s always quite localised - some areas well on the way and others nowhere near

[@malcolmfowler2891]

No sunset but the late evening sun really made those images, liked it in the drone footage as well. Take care

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Cheers mate yep always great to be up there

[@BimblesWithACamera]

Really liked that second one .. the luminance of the fern in the foreground and the trees .... as you say with some nice clouds at sunset ... but always good to recon a location and that for me is almost as good as getting a final image itself ... Isn't it funny how we can crave what we don't have .. you happened to mention the coastline from over here .. and man I'd love to have some of those fell walks on my doorstep ..... perhaps do a house swap for a few weeks ;)

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Cheers mate oh yeah I’m extremely lucky here - not sure I’d swap it for anything though I do particularly love shooting seascapes just wish we had even a couple of decent beaches. Off to Harris in September can’t bloody wait

[@shazzam532]

Beautiful photographs Stuart. I loved the first one with the little tree. I will be interested to see what you think of the Z7 as I purchased it a few weeks ago. I am yet to go out and do any landscape photography wit it let alone any focus bracketing. Cant wait to get out and about with it..

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Thanks Sharon, the z7 will have to be on hold for a little longer as I’ve just been landed with another big garage bill, I’m never buying a diesel again!

[@shazzam532]

Stuart McGlennon oh dear sorry to hear that. Re the Z7 I probably wouldn’t have brought it if I had realised what a struggle it is to manually focus it!!

[@Quaker521]

A couple of great images Stuart and it looked like one those 'Just great to be out on the hill' evenings. I think the 'dead thing' is just dead, dried out heather - but I could be wrong!

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Cheers yep I think it is looking back at it, dead/burnt heather

[@andrewsimpson5436]

Loving the light on the fern shot, is the dead plant just heather? Enjoyed the waffling in the last vid about the shop side and what's involved there, it's a big plus that you should be able to use as a positive. Enjoyable watch as always.

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Cheers pal yeah I ended up preferring that one also, I’m going to try and work in more stuff with the gallery where it’s appropriate though it’s manically busy at the moment and will probably need to wait until school hols have finished

[@davesemmens9496]

Glad to see everyone suffers from the disappearing cloud at sunset :) Been chasing heather in the Peak District and still to get an image I am happy with. Keep up the great work on the videos - really enjoying them.

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Thanks Dave yeah it’s happened to me a few times since I’ve started filming these! Not to worry though was still a nice evening, cheers for watching 👍

[@McKinnellPhotography]

Hi Stuart, just found your channel and watched a few of your back catalogue of videos. Really enjoying your work; I wonder whether it would be even better if you were half a yard further back when looking into the camera, it feels like you are too close to me. The dead foliage is old heather that has died back. Great work!

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Cheers Steve yeah you could be right I’ll bear that in mind, cheers for watching 👍

[@Paul9]

Really enjoying your channel Stuart, you are very genuine and comes through in the videos. Gained a lot so far from watching in particular the prints one last week. I know what you mean with Fuji files. I have some Fuji and Canon gear, it’s just the foliage issue with Fuji, I find processing them through iridient helps massively but the files just still don’t look as natural. Cheers, Paul

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Cheers Paul yeah it’s a real shame with the files as the cameras themselves are excellent, that xt4 ticked all the boxes otherwise, but the files are just too much to ignore (my partner can even tell the difference in an A4 print which isn’t good!) as the xt3 is the same sensor and I made a few with prints with it before trading it.

[@MikePageKaltenberg]

Hi Stuart, you've got a good niche here with your experience as a gallery owner. I'd really focus on that aspect - advice on which images sell is great! Keep on doing them in the field alright, but a bit more gallery footage wouldn't hurt either. Don't worry about boring us, you've got a good rapport with the camera - it works. No need to be defensive. For the record, a thicket is like a copse, a small collection of trees. What you're looking at seems to be a dead piece of heather - the structure is the same as the other heather plants.

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Thanks for watching Mike, gallery stuff will come in time though it’s not as straightforward as you might think, though I have a few things planned. Main issue currently is my framer having time to be part of any video. Yes I thought as much with the heather as soon as I started processing though it would was too late by then lol

[@SteveP_2426]

Liked the style of the vlog Stuart. For me the last shot with the fern was far better than the one with the dead bit of heather - that was distracting...sorry. The light on the fern and heather in the foreground of the last shot really showed off the colours nicely.. All being well re Lockdowns I'll be up in keswich late October so may well add Walla Crag to my list of shoots so thanks for the tips as I love panos. Hope to get some heater shots over the Bank Hol weekend in the New Forest Nat. park. yes, I'd like the auto focus stacking feature too. My Eos R doesn't have it but the RP does so not sure of Canon's logic!!

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Cheers Steve no need to apologise! I didn’t mind it as a foreground subject though I agree that the fern one was the better shot 👍 hope you get some good stuff when you get out over the bank hols

[@keithpinn152]

Hi Stuart: I really enjoyed this video. Your image of the heather with the thicket is amazing. The diversity of colour is very powerful. What is the ideal time for the colours to be out for the heather and how long does it last? How are the migs that time of the year? Cheers, Keith (Canada)

[@StuartMcGlennon]

In terms of the heather the quality of the colour varies from year to year, generally if we have dry summers the colour isn't as good though the UK climate is pretty wet most of the time! It does mean however that we get great colour in the heather most years, it peaks usually in late august though in some places it can be seen as early as the first weeks in July.

[@steveh1273]

I liked the juxtaposition of the dead plant with the heather in the foreground. You may have only needed 2 photos for the stack since the middle ground is mostly distant / near infinity. I still use a D800E, and haven't seen a reason to "update" it yet. I can understand your issue since you shoot quite a bit with leading foregrounds, but I'm not sure people are all that happy with the auto-focus stacking. It may take too many images for the stack, I don't know. I'm waiting to see Nikon's next offering, remember when changing out the lenses on a mirrorless to turn your back away from the wind and protect that sensor or you'll be cleaning it all the time.

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Thanks Steve - I certainly needed 3 frames as the first frame is the thin line of heather before the dead bit. I’ve used auto-focus stacking on both the xt3 and z7 without issue, it’s simply a case of setting the step value correctly. Nikon’s next offering will no doubt be excellent though I’m not sure I can wait that long lugging this brick and the other stuff up the fells for the next 6 months! Cheers for watching

[@derbydave41]

First mountain I climbed aged 8. My late uncle had a caravan at Castlerigg when it was a much more basic site than it is now

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Aye it’s a lovely wee walk up there and then on to Bleaberry, Heather is super this time of year

[@derbydave41]

Stuart McGlennon hmm. Istr Bleaberry can be a tad boggy

[@stew841]

Nice one, mate. Heather season usually passes me by unfortunately, I live in Kent so not much about without a long drive..! With regards to the Z7, what video do you need it for, these vlogs or something else?

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Thanks mate it has IBIS so would be great for good quality handheld b-roll without having to use another camera (I have an a6400 for this) plus all the other mirrorless benefits though video was my main concern.

[@stew841]

@@StuartMcGlennon it'll be good to see how you get on with it. I have a d810 too which is great although the new features of the mirrorless cameras are tempting :)

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Truth be told if I hadn’t started KZbin I’d have probs stuck with the 810 as image quality wise the two are basically the same. But with by bag weight now nearly doubling I desperately needed to trim it down a bit

[@andrewroland]

What weather app do you use ?

[@StuartMcGlennon]

A mixture of Clearoutside, Windy, and the MWIS website

[@ianpinion4997]

Those famous last words, "I'm sure there's an image here somewhere?", in this case a panoramic, I've uttered myself on numerous occasions and then failed to find one. In my case it's usually as I've been driving past in a car, but of course, when you park up to have a proper recce, it's rare that you actually walk down the middle of the carriageway. No instead, you take off into the field at the side of it and you're often then lower than the road and everything changes. Still, both your portrait images were cracking, despite them being taken in far from perfect conditions. I think you should enjoy the Z7. I was on a workshop in Dubrovnik and one of the other participants had one. Absolutely cracking camera. Of course, former Nikon Ambassador, Ross Hoddinott now uses his Z7 for his landscape work and he's delighted. His D850, which also has the automated focus stacking feature, is confined to shooting wildlife/macro now. Incidentally, there's rumours that Nikon have just registered a Z7 with two card slots, so if that's important to you, it might be worth holding off a little longer. Firstly, the existing Z7 will drop in price a bit more, because there will be a new flagship model that will sit above it and with the kind of specification aimed squarely at professionals like yourself. I might look at a Z5 myself, once my personal circumstances feel a little more stable and secure. This blasted virus has an awful lot to answer for.

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Cheers Ian, yep the next iteration of the z7 will no doubt be excellent with two cards slots etc and probably be on a par with the R5, though it’ll cost a fortune lol and at the moment I can’t really wait around until they become reasonably priced which would probs be in 18months. That z7 should do all its required to do which is all I’m after really. The z5 looks a really interesting option at the release price

[@derbydave41]

What’s the weather app Stuart?

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Those were Windy and ClearOutside

[@stephenthompson1998]

2 good photos, shame about the pano when you look at the vistas available.

[@StuartMcGlennon]

Thanks Stephen, most of those other vistas I’ve already shot many times from this vantage point, really just wanted a specific shot from this shoot