Have you seen those old VW camper vans? You know, the 1967 fume-pumping, ear-rattling, moss-gathering things that top out at 50mph? With the greatest respect to any owners reading this, why would you buy one when there are more efficient and comfortable modern camper vans available? I suspect it’s a nostalgic hankering for a simpler life on the road, perhaps even a refusal to conform to modernity. VW camper van owners must see themselves as a bastion of motoring tradition.

And so it is with black-and-white photographers. Modern cameras and software enable us to do almost anything with our photography, but some prefer to strip their images right back to basics. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

Now, before we go any further, I can drive a VW camper van, but I couldn’t repair one. In the same way, I can have a stab at a decent black-and-white image. But the art – and it is an art – of finely optimising monochromatic images in either the traditional or digital darkroom is not my thing. (It’s a patience issue – as in, I haven’t got any.) So I’m going to keep things simple.

Clean shapes and shadows

There are some images of nature that need colour; they cry out to have their colour celebrated. Poppy fields, sunsets, brightly marked birds or insects – all of these subjects rely on colour. It’s what they’re about, and removing it would clearly detract from the image created. Other subjects are all about mood, drama, texture or graphic simplicity, and these are the ingredients for the black-and-white treatment. It’s often a case of discerning what doesn’t work in black and white, rather than what does.

I look for clean shapes, straight lines, contrasting textures and shadowy curves – subjects that not only don’t need colour but actually benefit from leaving it out. These are subjects that rely on form to bring them to life; they need to be monochromatic in the same way that a rose needs to be a super-saturated red or pink.

The great thing with modern technology is the myriad options available at our fingertips. So for the modern black-and-white photographer, there’s no need for a specialist camera or a trawl around the darkest corners of the internet for black-and-white film. Anyone can create effective images in post-processing. OK, it’s a bit like the 1967 camper van owner having air-conditioning fitted to his vehicle, but I prefer to be outdoors rather than sitting behind a computer.

The image above was taken in the depth of winter when it was almost completely dark. Only the black lines of these Caledonian pines in the Scottish Highlands punctured the stark white of the snow. The low light resulted in a heavy blue cast falling across the frame. But although I quite liked it, I wanted the image to be all about the shape and texture of the trees – it was crying out for conversion to black and white. I used Adobe Photoshop to do this, which many people have on their PC or Mac, but there are lots of different software packages and methods to turn your standard colour image into simple monochrome. Just remember, though, that a computer can’t correct for a badly chosen subject or a poorly composed shot. That’s a black-and-white rule in photography, no matter what the colour.

STEP BY STEP

1. To change any image from colour to monochrome, open the image in Adobe Photoshop.

2. On the tool bar across the top of the screen, go to Image and scroll down to Adjustments, then Channel Mixer. Then tick the Monochrome check box in the bottom-left corner.

3. Now go to Image, then  Adjustment, then Curves and use the crosshairs to fix the line at the centre point of the graph.

4. Then move the top right and bottom left ends of the plotted line for different contrast effects.

5. Be sure to use the software in moderation – remember, subtlety is key.

TOP TIPS

• Train your photographic mind – look for shapes and textures that would work well as a black-and-white photograph. Or, conversely, check out colours that would work as colours.

• Study the work of top black-and-white photographers – why do their images look good? More often than not, it’s to do with a discerning eye rather than any post-processing black magic.

• Don’t be fooled into thinking that you can turn a weak image into a perfect one on your computer – you can’t create a silk purse from a sow’s ear. Much better to get it right in camera, so look, discern and execute to the best of your ability.

Inspired by Peter’s masterclass? Send us your best black & white shot by 21 January 2012 and you could win like an Olympus E-PL3 camera, worth £549.99!

Show us what you have learned in our Photography Masterclass feature and you could win an Olympus E-PL3.

Enter Here

“It’s the new golf,” announces my colleague as we sit in a cold hide with nothing happening outside. “What is?” I ask. “Nature photography; it’s the new golf,” he explains. He’s right, you know. The digital revolution has equipped a whole new army of photographers with the wherewithal to get out there and take great pictures; an army with more choice, opportunity and money than any previous generation. Now, this heightened competition might be bad news for freelancers, such as my colleague and I. But if it means more people getting out there and enjoying nature, I for one can live with the financial consequences. But there’s another facet to the tsunami of great wildlife imagery we’re bombarded with on a daily basis. Standards are being driven up and the old ‘bird on a stick’ picture just doesn’t cut it any more. Things have moved on, and your audience – even if that’s just family and friends – expects something more.

Speedy subjects
Capturing a fast-moving subject on camera is damned difficult. It requires lightning reactions, a steady hand, careful framing and a little help from technology. Modern cameras have an unbelievable ability to focus on a fast-moving subject and stay ‘locked on’. I’m not advocating you sell your house and kids to buy the latest kit, but fast-focusing cameras and lenses do help with action photography. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the huge variety of British wildlife we’re so fortunate to have around behaves in myriad ways. You don’t have to attempt to follow a 200mph peregrine falcon in flight – that can come later! Young rabbits frolicking in a field, squirrels burying their winter food, blue tits preening on your washing line – these are all examples of wildlife in action. And, if you can capture that behaviour, it will elevate your images beyond just static portraits.

So what’s the secret weapon? I sound like an old record peddling this out, but it’s true: the best wildlife photographers are the best naturalists. Knowing your subject and having a good idea of what it is likely to do will help your action photography far more than any fancy gear. Preening swans will almost always complete their ablutions with a shake and a wing flap – be ready! Hares and other mammals often follow the same daily routines – be ready! And most birds will take off into the wind – see the image of an eider duck, above. If you know these things, you can be in position to nail the shot. Next time you’re out walking, invest some time watching wildlife. I mean really watching. At some point, with camera in hand, you’ll be glad of the knowledge you’ll have gained.

STEP BY STEP
1. I’d been watching this otter on the coast for three days and had worked out at what state of the tide it was likely to fish.
2. From a distance, I followed the animal along the coast, moving only when it dived underwater. I knew I had roughly 30 seconds between
each dive to get into a new position.
3. Seeing it catch some prey, I anticipated where it might land to feed and quickly got behind a rock, resting my camera on a beanbag.
4. Otters have poor eyesight, but they can detect movement, so anticipation, rather than reaction, is the key.
5. All this done, pressing the button was the easy bit!

TOP TIPS
■ Watching wildlife and learning about their behaviour and seasonal routines will help your photography. In the case of otters, I try never to lose sight of them – they can disappear into thin air!
■ Decide what you want to photograph and then make a plan – chance photo opportunities are very rare.
■ Know your camera inside out – it’s easy to miss shots fiddling with unfamiliar controls.
■ You don’t need to have loads of camouflage gear. But equally, bright yellow jackets are not recommended!
■ Try to maintain focus on the subject’s eye and use a high shutter speed to stop movement.
■  Above all, remember wildlife photography isn’t easy. Stick at it and don’t get frustrated – get determined instead.

Inspired by Peter’s masterclass? Send us your best tracking shot photographs by 14 October 2011 and you could win like a Nikon D3100 camera, worth £579.99!

How do you like your water? Blurry or sharp? It’s one of those geeky photographer debates – a bit like Canon versus Nikon (you know, the white lenses versus the black ones) as a preferred camera manufacturer. It’s kind of pointless as there is no right or wrong: it’s entirely subjective. Personally, I like blurry water, so that makes me right!

Britain has an amazingly diverse and spectacular coastline – around 11,000 miles – and instinctively we’re all drawn to it. The salty moisture in the air, the relentless crashing of the waves… the sea affects us in many ways we don’t even give a thought to. But more than anything, it makes us feel good. A colleague of mine often refers to the ‘edge effect’. As photographers, we are drawn to the edge of landscapes: to the edge of the day, be it dawn or dusk; even to the edge of the seasons when the weather is at its most dynamic. And the sea is right at the edge: the edge of our own habitat, the point at which we enter another realm where we’re not entirely comfortable. Photographing near the sea heightens our senses and unleashes our creativity. It takes us to the edge, and it’s great fun.

Blurring the waters
So back to blurry water. My perfect seascape is a stormy day, with lots of mood in the sky and the low light of dawn or dusk. But seascapes need something else: they need compositional aids. To this end, perhaps the most alluring of combinations is a rocky shoreline in the foreground, and an offshore geological feature – such as a rugged promontory, sea stack or distant island – to provide backdrop interest. If you think that’s a lot of things to come together, think again. The Jurassic Coast of the South West, the Pembrokeshire coastline, the classic castles of Northumbria and, of course, the Scottish Highlands are all examples where a combination of foreground and backdrop fit together neatly. All you need is the light and you’re in business.

Returning to blurry water (again). I tend to shoot all my wide-angle landscapes at a narrow aperture (f16 or f22), which in the low light of dawn or dusk means the shutter will have to stay open for a relatively long time for a correct exposure. In the main image, right, this took five seconds, which accounts for the blurry effect of the sea washing over the rocks. In brighter conditions, I often use a polarising or neutral density filter to deliberately slow the shutter speed further. Some might say the sea doesn’t look like that. Some might call the approach flaky or frivolous. I just love the effect and it makes me want to go and do the same in every secluded cove up and down the country. I hope I might see you there…

Step-by-step guide

1. The weather driving down to the Giant’s Causeway in County Antrim was less than promising, but my experience told me that it could be in my favour.
2. I waited for the hordes of visitors to clear, which in the height of summer wasn’t until past 10pm. The sun had long since disappeared, but that provided the low-light conditions I was looking for.
3. I chose a foreground where the rocks were wet and the waves were still reaching my feet – this gives a subtle combination of shape and form, complemented by the dreamy effect of the water. It takes a bit of time to find the optimal position.
4. Using a wide-angle lens (set to f16) and the camera set on a sturdy tripod, I composed the image and released the shutter using a two-second self-timer to avoid me touching the camera and the resultant vibration.
5. Checking the histogram periodically for exposure, I made numerous images. By the time I left it was nearly midnight and the shutter speed was up to four minutes (the water was very blurred
in these pictures).

Top tips
•Tripod, tripod, tripod – needI say anything more? Well, OK,a sturdy tripod!
•Coastal landscapes can workin all manner of conditions, even rain – just be open-minded and get out there.
•For blurry water, a shutter speed in excess of two seconds is recommended. Thereafter, the longer the better (if you like that sort of thing!).
•Keep shooting. Even before dawn or after sunset, as long as the camera is stable, there willbe shots to be had.
•Sorry to sound like a schoolteacher, but do be careful. It can be slippery working near the coast and sometimes youget so immersed in taking the perfect picture, you don’t notice changes in tide or weather (I’ve done this many times).

Inspired by our feature? Send us your best seascape photographs by 29 July 2011 and you could win like a Nikon D5100 camera, worth £779.99!

“Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see.” This line from Queen’s 1975 monster-hit Bohemian Rhapsody resonates with me both as an erstwhile rocker and, latterly, an obsessive nature photographer.

It’s all about light. That’s what any landscape photographer will tell you. Without exciting light even the most spectacular of views look mundane. It’s true, but don’t be fooled into thinking that it’s just about light. Any image that includes the sky – and most sweeping vistas do – relies on it to contribute to, rather than detract from, the final result. Any landscape sky, therefore, needs to have texture, colour or mood, and preferably all three. It can be menacing or brooding or full of subtle pastel shades, but it cannot be plain. Plain skies just don’t work. Although we love to complain about the British weather, we’re very fortunate to enjoy constantly changing conditions. Some might call it fickle, but I prefer dynamic.

Capturing the moment
The trouble with dynamic skies is that they’re difficult to plan. Yes, there are clues in the time of year, time of day and prevailing weather, but generally they just happen. And often, they don’t happen for very long so you need to be ready. You need to see and prepare for what might develop.

So how do you photograph what is effectively thin air? I’m not one for sticking to photographic rules, but there are a few things I’ve learnt from past mistakes. One thing I try to do is include some land at the foot of the image. It doesn’t have to be much. In fact, most of my favourite skyscapes include nothing more than a slither of horizon; just enough to contextualise the grandeur of the sky. Including something the eye relates to – a building, a person or, in the case of this image, a boat – can reinforce this.

I usually shoot with a wide-angle lens, which helps to exaggerate scale, and I often use a circular polarising filter too. Now don’t panic: I’m not going into gear-geek mode! A polariser simply darkens the sky, allowing clouds to really pop out. It can easily ‘overcook’ the image, however, turning the sky almost black, so do use this filter with care.

The sky shouldn’t just be treated as a component in an image, however; in many cases, the sky is the image. So while you’re snapping away on beaches and hilltops around the country, why not celebrate the landscape – or should I say skyscape – above your head? Tilt the camera upwards and make the most of Britain’s skies – you’ll be hard pushed to better them anywhere.

Top Tips

• Be a weather nerd! Keep your eye on the forecast and try to predict dramatic conditions.
• Try to include some context in your image– something that underlines how big the sky is.
• Shoot for as long as you can. The texture and colour of the sky changes subtly all the time and just when you think it’s all over, it comes back again!
• Skyscapes often look fantastic in black and white, so experiment with the monochrome function on Photoshop when you get home.
• Shoot every 20 seconds for 100 frames, then turn the images into a spectacular time-lapse sequence.

Step-by-step guide

1. With the light changing rapidly, I’d gone along to Loch Insh to photograph some moody landscapes. But the scudding clouds above quickly drew my eye instead.
2. Knowing that the intensity of the sky wouldn’t last, I quickly positioned my tripod and waited for the clouds to partially obscure the sun to eliminate any flare.
3. Using a 17–40mm zoom lens allowed me to accurately frame the image by tweaking the focal length.
4. By adding a circular polariser and under-exposing the foreground, the impact of the sky is heightened.
5. I shot continually for around 10 minutes – both in horizontal and vertical formats, and with varying degrees of polarisation – until the effect had passed and the sun broke back through.

Keen on capturing your walks on camera? Love nature, landscapes and the people you meet along the way? Join walk magazine’s Flickr group and share your photos with the walking world – and beyond. Since its launch, the popular group has attracted a dedicated following of nearly 1,200 keen photographers – with everyone from beginners to professionals sharing their snaps. We’ve had nearly 12,000 great images uploaded so far – with everything from beautiful snowy hills to spring lambs; windswept beaches to craggy ruins; sunrises over misty hills and evenings on a quiet loch.

Plus, with our quarterly photography competitions, you can showcase your work via our upload feature for your chance to bag a brand new camera – like the Olympus E-PL1 we’re giving away for the best nature pattern photo this summer. So get out there, get snapping and share your shots with fellow walkers today! Here’s a short selection of some of our favourites so far, and the top three as chosen by our resident photography expert, Peter Cairns….

Water formed the backdrop for our first photography masterclass and competition, and the entries were incredible. The overall winner was Brighton Beach Party by Stephen Cotterell, Brighton while Swan by Vicki Goodwin, Bristol and Last Light in Elgol by Gerry Priest, St Andrews were highly commended.

In our Summer 2009 edition, Peter Cairns looked at using the sun to create a halo effect. Here are his favourites – winner Newcastle street sculpture by Alan Warriner, Newcastle; and the highly commended Snowshoeing by Andrew Chandler, St Albans and Cow Parsley by Christopher Bull.

The bumper snowfall last winter ensured an amazing selection of images from around the country – here are the winners: Three Men and a Dog by Gordon Robson, Stockport; and highly commended: Antarctic Peninsula by Mike Landy, Wantage, and Snowy Blencathra by Graeme Kelly, Penrith.

In the Spring 2010 edition of walk we asked for your best shots of reptiles and amphibians – here’s the winning entry, Toad Ball by John Hart, Elsrickle; and highly commended: Spider by Ian Soar, Derby, and Frog by John Davies, Bradford.

Reckon you can do better? Send us your nature pattern photographs by 16 July 2010 and you could win like an Olympus E-PL1 camera, worth £549.99!

Judge Peter Cairns presents his pick of the best wildlife in action photographs from last issue’s competition. Enter a black-and-white image and you could win an Olympus E-PL3 14-42mm lens kit, worth £549.99

A word from Peter

“A tricky round this: nobody said photographing moving animals was easy! The winning image combines behavioural interest with humour – always a great combination. I’d like to have seen the bird placed further to the right. But the tight crop, focusing on the pulling of
the fur for nest material, is top drawer.”

Winner: Crow by Suzanne Gadd from Redditch.

Highly commended: Swan by Simon James from Weston-super-Mare, and Butterfly by
Dean Wright from London.

Getting eye-to-eye with your animal subjects produces some stunning photography.  Peter Cairns recommends amphibians and reptiles as the perfect models to try it out

One of the thrills of rambling is the prospect of a close encounter with a wild animal. And believe it or not, that prospect is becoming more and more likely, as many creatures previously pushed to the brink of extinction are now clawing their way back. Otters, kites, buzzards, seals – these species and others are all increasing in number and it’s always a rewarding experience to get close to them. But you do need to be close to secure a successful image – surprisingly close, in fact. And the smaller the animal, the closer you need to be.

This is where fieldcraft comes into play, and that most valuable of tools – knowledge of your subject. There are very few species that are trusting enough to allow a direct approach into their ‘fear circle’, but those that do are very active at this time of year.

Fantastic frogs

The UK is home to seven native species of amphibian, a group of animals that have been around for 350 million years and are a kind of cross between a fish and a reptile. Perhaps the most recognisable to most of us is the common frog. From a photographic perspective, frogs are fantastic subjects in that they’re found throughout Britain in almost any habitat where there is a suitable breeding pond nearby.

As we’ve continued to drain many of our natural wetlands for development, frogs have become increasingly reliant on garden ponds, so if you haven’t got a pond, make friends with someone who has. Better still, build one yourself – you’ll have the added bonus that frogs eat lots of slugs and snails! Right, that’s the conservation sermon done with; how do you go about photographing frogs?

Spring is the spawning season, so you shouldn’t have much trouble finding one. The frog in the main image here was crossing a local road. So in return for me saving its life, I thought it owed me a few pictures! Close-up photographs like this can give a PR makeover to a range of often-overlooked and – dare I say it – ugly creatures that perhaps don’t get the public sympathy they should. Frogs, toads, lizards and snakes don’t top people’s popularity lists, when in fact they perform just as vital an ecological function as any of the furry or feathered wildlife superstars.
So, go on – get out there and turn a frog into a pin-up!

Step-by-step guide

1 The first thing to consider is viewpoint. As with most wildlife subjects, you need to get down low. Shooting at eye-level gives the image an intimate, dynamic feel. But you need to be close, so some sort of close-focusing lens is a must – I’ve used a 90mm macro here.

2 Next, the focusing. At a distance of just inches from the camera, the depth of field (the zone of sharpness) is minimal, so it’s critical that you focus on the eye of your subject. This will mean that some or all of the rest of the image is out of focus, which is unavoidable and even desirable from an aesthetic point of view.
If you have a camera with an aperture setting, aim for around f8.

3 Although frogs will sit stock-still, you need to keep your camera steady. I use a tripod, but otherwise a bag full of rice or beans placed on the ground will work. A cable release or self-timer will activate the shutter without shaking the camera.

4  Like many professional shots of amphibians, this image has been ‘stage managed’. I moved the frog to get better control of the viewpoint, lighting and background. If you move your subject, do so with care.

Top tips

• Focus on the animal’s eye – up close, depth of field is minimal.

• Choose a muted and distant background – a cluttered or bright background will immediately draw the viewer’s eye.

• Don’t handle your subject more than is necessary. If you move it, always put it back.

• Shoot in bright, overcast light rather than full sun – this ensures smooth and even illumination without harsh shadows.

• Learn about your subject – some reptiles and amphibians have special laws protecting them and, in the case of adders, can be dangerous.

If you think you have mastered these techniques why not enter our photography competition.