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!

To enter please click here.

The winner will be the first entry picked at random after the 7 October 2011 closing date.

Prize includes:
21-24 October 2011, St Catherines Barn* Niton Barns

Return ferry tickets:
Car + 4 passengers

*St Catherine’s barn has two bedrooms, both en-suite which makes it perfect for couples who want to enjoy the Island together, or for a family looking for a lively fun packed break.

T&Cs: A Security Deposit of £200.00 is required and will be refunded in full or part within two weeks after the Tenants’ departure date.The accommodation must not be entered before 16:00 hours on the day of arrival and must be vacated by 10:00 hours on the day of departure.

“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!

“Every year, I am overwhelmed by the positive response,” says Charlie. ”Everybody is photographing and I am convinced that these individual moments of creativity help us in our everyday lives. We are very much looking forward to seeing this year’s entries.”

Unlike many other photographic competitions, Take a view celebrates the United Kingdom only, offering photographers worldwide the opportunity to showcase their images of this richly diverse and unique country. Entrants have until 15th July to enter the 2011 Awards by submitting their photographs of the British landscape. The competition is open to everyone and, for the first time this year, you can enter up to 25 photographs across the four categories. There is an exciting prize fund worth £20,000, including £10,000 for the overall winner. There is also a special class for those under 16, so the whole family can get involved.

All entries to the award must be uploaded via the competition website, www.take-a-view.co.uk and the closing date is 15th July 2011. Entry fees apply, so for full terms and conditions please visit the site.

Top image: Slawek Staszczuk won the Natural England ‘Landscape on your Doorstep’ Award for this view of the South Downs near Kingston, East Sussex, England.
Above: a selection of past winners.

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!

Each of the category winners will receive £250 worth of Aquapac waterproof gear including:

• A Submersible SLR Camera Case (above) for taking underwater images
• A padded waterproof SLR carrying case
• A 25l waterproof backpack.
• A Submersible compact camera case.

The runners up for each category will win £85 worth of gear from Aquapac, the official sponsor of the competition. Entries are due by Friday 29 April, visit the Keswick Mountain Festival website for more.

Over 100 of the best images from the fourth annual Take a view – Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards 2010 are now on display at the National Theatre in London, including this year’s winner: Antony Spencer’s Corfe Castle, Dorset, England (above).

Nicola Harkness was commended in the “Adult Classic view”category for this image of the waterfall of Smoo Burn, seen through the dim light of the second chamber of the cave – a combined sea and freshwater cave in the far north of Sutherland.

Marcus McAdam was highly commended for “Ice Steps”, taken at Sligachan on the Isle of Skye, Scotland.

Dudley Williams was the winner in the “Adult Classic view” category with “Sand Patterns” – his photograph of a freshwater run-off across a beach on the Isle of Eigg, Scotland, creating these stunning patterns in the sand. The soft tones are provided by the late-winter dawn.

Slawek Staszczuk won the Natural England ‘Landscape on your Doorstep’ Award for this view of the South Downs near Kingston, East Sussex, England.

Another wintry view, this time courtesy of Stephen Garnett. His image of Malham Moor in winter, North Yorkshire, England was highly commended in the “Adult Living the view” category.

To complement the exhibition, Landscape Photogapher of the Year 4 is available from AA Publishing via the Ramblers bookshop – with half the profits going towards supporting Ramblers. At the National Theatre, a series of talks and tours with awards founder and landscape photographer Charlie Waite is planned, focusing this year on his approach to photography and his recent travels to China, India & Japan. In addition, Waite will be running tours of the exhibition and will be joined in the new year by the editor of Amateur Photographer, Damien Demolder, for a day of One-to-One critique sessions for keen photographers. For more, please visit www.take-a-view.co.uk

The Take a view – Landscape Photographer of the Year 2010 Exhibition runs from 22 November 2010 to 16th January 2011 (though is closed on 15th December) at the Lyttelton Foyer, National Theatre, South Bank, London SE1 9PX ✆ 020 7452 3000. Admission is free , and the exhibition is open Monday to Saturday, 9.30am to 11pm, (except for Bank Holidays) and on a number of Sundays from noon to 6pm (check NT website for dates).

Of plants and poems
Heath rush, tormentil, sundew and asphodel – the very names sound like poetry in themselves. Inspired by these and other moorland plants, the Moors for the Future Partnership is calling on walkers and other outdoor enthusiasts to celebrate all kinds of upland grasses, flowers, mosses and heathers through poetry.

The Moorland Plant Poetry Competition is open to all ages and any style of poem as long as it is about a plant found on the Peak District moorlands. The poems can be anything from acrostic (where the first letter of each line spells a relevant word) to conventional rhymes, free verse, sonnets or even a Haiku (three lines of five, seven and five syllables, unrhymed, 17 syllables in all). Potential poets can go out and find their own moorland plant or visit www.moorsforthefuture.org.uk for ideas, inspiration and pictures of plants like the cottongrass pictured above.

“We want people to appreciate the incredible richness and diversity of our native flora by taking a closer look at moorland plants,” explains Moorland Discovery learning officer Rachael Kerr. “Many of these plants are fragile and rare and often overlooked, so we wanted to help people celebrate them, especially in the International Year of Biodiversity.”

Winners will receive a certificate and their poems will be mounted on plaques for display at the Ward’s Croft Moorland Garden at the Moorland Discovery Centre, Longshaw. Poems, together with the writer’s name, address, phone number and age should be sent to the Moorland Discovery Centre, Longshaw Estate, Derbyshire, S11 7TZ. The closing date is December 25, 2010.

Picture-postcard prose

Meanwhile, the 2010 John Muir Trust Wild Writing, Wild Places competition has been won by Melissa Harrison for her short story Dimmity. Inspired by visits to Dartmoor, the story tells of a journey at dusk to a familiar stretch of moorland on Dartmoor.

Since 2007, the John Muir Trust has run a competition with the aim of celebrating our landscape and wild places by encouraging new and upcoming writers to write about their experiences and share their stories. This year there were over 100 entries. Winner Melissa Harrison is a writer, freelance photographer and magazine sub-editor. She grew up in Surrey, the youngest child of six, but spent most of her childhood summers on Dartmoor, where she developed a deep love of wild places. State educated, she won a place at Oxford to study English Literature and was awarded a First. She lives in South London with her husband Anthony and rescue dog, Scout, and escapes to go hiking and camping as often as she can.

Dimmity is published in the John Muir Trust Journal Autumn 2010, or can be read online on the Trust’s website.

Top image by Paul Jennings

“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!