Photographing WW2 Bomb Craters in the New Forest
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In this video, I head out to visit a bombing range in the New Forest in England, where some of the largest bombs used in WW2 were tested. This is an incredible place that I've struggled to photograph in the past, so this time I brought along a ladder, hoping the elevated viewpoint would help me out. Shooting this one with the Hasselblad H3Dii-39, and the GFX100s-two cameras that I'm trying to decide between for this work moving forward.
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Used to play in those as a child. Photographed them in my teens. Small world. Great work. Thank you.
A man and his ladder out for a walk in the forest. Brilliant!!
Yeah, definitely had me chuckle. And the impromptu bridge! :D
I'm imagining those scenes in black & white infrared. Having the foliage stand out against the bleak, overcast surroundings might look really cool.
He's gone full Death Stranding! Amazing
This is giving Death Stranding vibes lol I loved using the ladder to cross the water. Very fun video!
Haha, that’s what I thought!
really loving these series of videos, Kyle!
Thanks for the video and an interesting challenge and perspective. Speaking of: the tall boy bomb was an interesting proposition as a 12.000 lbs bomb that was designed as the earliest form of 'bunker buster'. If dropped from a sufficient height, it could destroy things such as submarine pens and underground bunker systems, so it saw use against harbours and V-weapon launch sites.
Tallboy also sunk the Tirpitz in November 1944.
I'm 19, currently studying photography half an hour from there in Bournemouth! In other videos in this series you've been close to my home back up in the midlands, really enjoying seeing this kind of content closer to home. The subject matter is also excellent, I'm working on a long form project shooting archaeological earthworks in my home of Worcestershire, as well as documenting historical reenactors, often WW2, all on a 6x9 Mamiya, so your videos always feel very relevant, really inspirational to me. Excited to see more!
Glad you've enjoyed!
A few seconds in and I already just love the composition of the establishing shot, and also the stopped down look where everything’s sharp. In a world full of youtubers with fullframe cameras and prime lenses - a sharp, well composed image really stands out. =) But enough ranting, I’m looking forward to the video.
Really enjoy watching your adventures. Thank you for sharing. Definitely love the ladder to get you a different perspective. Awesome.
Hi Kyle. It's so fascinating watching you photograph places where I grew up; keep up the superb work. I wonder how you are coping with the uniform grey of the UK? Personally, it drives me crazy; I think Bill Bryson's quote from The Lost Continent describes it perfectly. Sometimes, it rained, but mostly, it was just dull, a land without shadows. It was like living inside Tupperware.
Hah, I've never come across that quote, but it certainly feels like that at times. It's been an adjustment period, but I'm learning to love it.
No photo of the horses? I feel like that was a missed opportunity to add an element to the environment that is missing in the photos and would work well with the concept behind the project. Imagine a photo with only the white horse in that environment marked by war - "..and I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer."
Definitely something to keep in mind for the future. These places often overwhelm me, and it's once I'm back home that ideas come.
14:18 I think a black & white image would look really cool for this landscape with all the tree branches reaching out from the ground.
The first video of Lena Bessanova (sp?) I watched was her on a taller ladder taking large format photos (8x10? 11x14?). Of course, Ansel Adams is known to have stood on the roof of his car.
Have you been to Edingham munitions works near Dumfries? Lots of WW2 graffiti there, either from the workers or the pows later on. Drawings of aircraft, pin up girls and so on. Very well preserved too.
I haven't. But thanks for the heads up. I'll have to look it up.
you sharing the frustrating days is actually very helpful for me as someone starting out and learning.
Definitely a big part of my process!
I personally prefer the Hasselblad colors, looks more real.
If you had some arc lamps like they used to use in the old movies.That could supplement some for light on the cloudy days..but it would be very expensive to do it that way..However A night photo using arc lamps might make a tremendous photo of these craters..My opinion.
this less than 20 mins from my childhood home so its cool to see your photography here!
Kyle,
Some time ago you recommended the Peak 5x “Lupe” (as they call a loupe).
Mine arrived today and what an excellent thing it is.
It is at least a hundred times better for me than the Peak 10x.
So easy to have the neg in focus. The loupe can be tilted or used hovering above the film and the view is sharp. Eye relief is the best ever.
I can see close to half the 6x6 neg at once. It’s strong enough so that I can see where focus drops off faster at f/8 than f/11 (same composition, different frames ).
Holy Cow! That loupe gives film photography a new name!
Using the 5x loupe makes the experience similar to naked eye viewing of a nearly 30x30cm frame! The best! THANKS.
I depend on louping my 6x6 negatives. I don’t scan them. And I do not make contact prints. Over the years I’ve learned to see whether a negative is worth printing by louping it. Now that’s a hundred times easier and more comfortable.
I’ve got to admire your dedication to photographing these scenes!
Snow would be fantastic
The bunker photos remind me of Monty Python's Funniest Joke in the World sketch. I wonder if they filmed it there.
I wonder if maybe a drone shot would work well for this kind of landscape? It could really show all the craters in the earth and how much of the area was blown up.
It could. They may also just blend into the surrounding landscape if you're too high up.
stick with it, you're on the right track and it feels like this is your next book
Definitely a project I'm excited about.
Love this, visited these locations as a kid!
I don't know why, but your style of making these videos keeps me watching even the longer ones. Even though they are often in moody weather conditions (exactly how I would think the UK looks like, even though it's not that much different here in Dithmarschen, just less interesting landscapes and artifacts ;-)). Maybe it is like being with you on these trips, without much ado, no fancy locations. And than the one or other video about the more technical side, and some analog(ue) stuff. A good mixture!
I'm glad you enjoy these. I like making them. They're a nice change from the gear / tech stuff, although I realise those ones are helpful for people as well.
I can't imagine a tougher shot (ok, slight hyperbole) than a crater without a decent amount of elevation. I almost want to say "Strap your Hassy to a drone!" 😂 I love this series.
The first drone that I ever owned, years and years ago, was one that could carry a full size camera. I think it was an octocopter. Went straight into a tree on first flight. Never again! 😂
I live in Southampton so I end up shooting in the New Forest quite a bit: really cool seeing your process in a place that's so familiar to me. Funny that you describe the heathland as being a busy landscape when I tend to avoid it as being fairly dull! All a matter of perspective. Love the vids, please keep them coming
And here I am, finding it a really interesting landscape because of the colors there! Muted, but varied.
Cheers. Yeah, busy to me is all the little twigs and 'distracting' elements. Just need the right weather.
First off, I cant beleive when you said " I've got to run this trash back to the car then we will go" that you didn't include any running footage. HAHA!
Ive really been diving into your content lately and truly has inspired me to get out more, regardless of the weather. So, thank you.
Haha, yeah, these shoots are always such a scramble. I'm always surprised that I even end up with enough to edit a video from.
2:12 Death Stranding 2 looking sick
Hi Kyle, great video. Lived in this area all my life, but it’s amazing how someone else can see things that others would never notice. Looking forward to your future trips down to the New Forest. I’d check out the area around beaulieu aerodrome, there’s some craters out that way as you head to lymington.
Cheers! I'll keep that in mind. It's a nice day trip for me down to the NF, so it's somewhere I plan to visit often.
New Forest is fairly local to me and I've been lots of times but I still feel clueless about 99% of it once away from the more popular bits. I did a fun photography project with young people in the village of Burley that explored around there but so much to explore, thanks for sharing this location and the great images. I know the scrubland/moor area of the forest is always a but bleak, but one good thing with winter and those craters is that there aren't brambles obscuring the shapes in the landscape I guess.
Yeah, New Forest is such an interesting area. It's fairly close to me, and makes a good day trip. Every time that I visit I tell myself I have to get there more often. It actually can feel quite open/remote at times, which is nice.
What a strange and wacky adventure. Really enjoyed this one. 👏🏼
Haha, basically sums it up!
Great video and what an incredible location
Kyle is taking all the extra steps to teach other how to climb the ladder of success in photography! 😅
What an amazing looking location! Can't wait to see what kind of photos you get when the conditions are right!
Haha. Yeah, eventually I'll get what I'm looking for there!
One of the first fundamental messages about photography that stuck with me was: shooting from an angle the human eye doesn't see as standard can truly make your images interesting. I love the ladder idea so much.
Definitely a good one!
I have a telescoping ladder that is pretty compact and easy to attach to a bag. Its a bit heavy but maybe easier to carry around the fields
I've been looking at those. I don't mind carrying extra weight, and something not as awkward would be great.
I feel like the bleak look adds to the cost of war on the landscape. I think I'd dig it in black and white as well.
Werner the Emotional Support Ladder made this video for me. It's interesting to see this "man altered landscape" being reclaimed!
Werner was a great travel buddy. The first of many trips together.
You should do a weekend trip to France and continue this series!
One day!
Yes!
The ladder bridge 👌
best unboxing video i've seen today.
looked great with the burned-down branches.
I never knew this about the New Forest. And I live in the South of England! hahaha I will have to check it out one day!
If it's of interest to you, Hankley Common (in between Godalming and Farnham) was used for training during WW2 (still is used for training by the army) and there's a few concrete pillboxes in the words, but also a section of Atlantic Wall they reconstructed for training purposes. They also tested some demolition charges on it too.
I actually visited that wall a couple of months back. So fascinating!
Hankley Common and the New Forest have a lot of similarities in terms of landscape, habitat and wildlife. Both fantastic places!
Fascinating.
If you haven't, use phocus to convert the 3fr's to fff. I've found with the 50 cc'd, a 400/800 iso shot demoscaled with phocus is a lot cleaner than a 3fr in LR/ACR
I have been recently. I definitely enjoy the files more coming out of it, compared to LR.
Would love to see a photo from the inside of the observation spot through the narrow slots, showing the limited view of the landscape.
It's a fascinating structure.
Very cool location! Are those horses wild??
I believe so.
Can I suggest a new video title? One man taking his ladder for a walk
Great images! Loved your "You Will Survive Doomsday" doc! Would you tell us what LUT you use? (if not the full grading process, haha)
So unlike you to do an "unboxing video," nice ladder!🙂 Very interesting subject and landscape, potential.
Haha, my first unboxing on the channel!
so cool :)
Nice work Kyle. The New Forest is 20 minutes from home for me. Salisbury, where I am based, is one of the places where they made the 'secret spitfires' during WWII. Obviously, the city has strong military connections with the plain nearby. Have you seen Melanie Friend's work Home front and The Plain? Not quite in the same vein as your project, but it might be of interest to you?
Cheers. I haven't heard of her work, but I'll definitely look it up. Thanks for the recommendation.
Kyle, do you plan on mixing this project with both digital and film? Or are you using the digital for scouting purposes?
Undecided yet. Started with film, and been shooting digital lately just for cost/speed. But I'm always pulled back to 4x5. Thankfully it's still in its early stages, and I'm in no rush. I would like to decide on one sooner than later though, as in the end, it won't really matter which one I use.
Love it!
Back on the gfx 100s? Thought you went with the 50r?
Yep, 100s. Used prices are just way too good now.
Go up in the world climb a ladder 😀................. the old jokes are the best.
Love the project! Which Hasselblad is that?
H3Dii-39
Hey man....loving the work you're doing at the moment. These projects are incredibly exciting. I'm not that far from the NF, so when you're back down here, then give me a holla. I still owe you a beer! I don't have a FB account anymore, so if you want to work something out, let me know.
Thanks, man. And yes, that would be great! I'm down there quite often, so we should certainly connect.
@@KyleMcDougall I'll ping you a message through your website tomorrow
My man Kyle must be secretly jacked to be carrying all that.
Haha, I'm just really good at suffering.
Like all good artists! @@KyleMcDougall
Three minutes in and I'm loving it already :) but... still I haven't found the website for the company sawmill your beanie is from! Do they sell their merch still? Let me know, this became a quest. I'll pop in later for proper feedback on the video, once I've seen it entirely.
Alright. This was probably one of my all time favorites from you Kyle. I found the tone and the editing particularly authentic. I also found the decision not to include camera and settings along the shots very fitting: just another way to escape the internet extremism, at least for this one time. Thank you.
Hah, I admire your dedication. Unfortunately I don't think this stuff is available anymore!
Someone should do a ladder video for street photography.
It'll get them into all the buildings behind the scenes
Does Gitzo make an extension accessory for that tripod?
They do. Unfortunately you would sacrifice a lot of the stability, going up on one column, versus the three legs.
Homda Fit :3
🙏👍
Given the reason that subject matter exists, I fell the bleakness adds to the photos.
For sure. That's something that I try to keep in mind often-what would suit this scene best, rather than what would make it 'look' the best.
I'm struggling with you calling bomb craters "cool", tbh. I like your channel a lot, but sometimes I just can't follow your infatuation with WWII stuff. Maybe I'm just too old.
All good. Just something that really interests me. I definitely don't expect people to be into everything I focus on with this channel.
Kyle, my friends and I call you daddy Kyle. But not in a sexual way. How do you feel about this? It started as the film daddy Kyle and has since been shortened.
Thinking that "Daddy Kyle" somehow COULD be sexual seems really messed up to me. :O
👍
I hate those commercials in the middle of the content. I always skip past them and I will NEVER buy anything that is advertized this way. I'll watch them at the beginning and end but never in the middle that cuts up the content like old TV commercials. I keep a list of this companies and send them to all my friends to advise them not to buy from these firms that insist their commercials must be in the middle of content.
I edge to commercials🔥🔥
@@jyrkijyrki9392wow 😂
This can't be the hill you're willing to die on. Like, click to the right 3 times. You seem passionate, which is awesome, but use your sense of justice to actually make things better. Squarespace, who supports all of photographers we watch for free on TH-cam, ain't the bad guy you need to be worried about.
damn bro it’s never this deep
First world problems 🙄
Have you seen Jem Southam's work Kyle? Specifically "Landscape Stories" book
I was just thinking the same, such as his dew pond work.
I have. I really enjoy his work.
His book Four Winters is one of my favourite photobooks that I own. I can't think of any other photographer whose work gives me such a sense of 'being there'.