When it rains our surroundings are somehow transformed. What is hard is now softer, what is harsh is now mellow.... the air brims with freshness... tones and hues are more beautiful... I love the rain!
I, too, have said I love to photograph things that others would walk past and not even notice. I love to capture the beauty other people may not have noticed.
Meg surely isn't bothered. Most people don't believe me when I tell them gloomy and misty is the best time to be in the woods. Another nice lesson. Rock on!
I always find it amusing that you apologize for your images with their "imperfections" or their "tensions". Your work is stunning and beautifully dynamic in its stillness and simple grandeur of the moment. You are an inspiration and a joy.
Haha, I think it's healthy to be honest about any potential issues but I guess it's my job to take on the challenges until I can make it work :) Many thanks, Mike!
Love your videos, and seeing Meg. My dog Gabriel passed away last month from Cancer and I stumbled upon this video, and right away was teleported back into walking the woods with him photographing birds and nature. Thanks for all the videos.
Love your approach to photography and your enthusiasm towards the natural look and feel of woodlands. It is nice to see a photographer who can not only capture atmosphere but allow the viewer to feel what you feel as you narrate your sessions.
Quality vlog as always. 💪 Woodlands never stop giving do they, not just photographically, but just for the joy of walking around and seeing little scenic vignettes. Every visit to the same woodland, down the same trail is always different, always rewarding. 🙂
I feel I've said this before but I'll say it again. Your videos are so inspirational, whenever I watch your videos I only wish I were within my local woodland, taking images. Beautifully done as ever, Simon.
Simon Baxter notification, woodland photography, no brainer. Cuppa coffee, sit down and enjoy. Great video and great images. Thanks for sharing!! Oh, and what is a YT video without the awesome Megatron!!
Where I see mangled green and brown clumps, you see an exquisite composition. I do envy your woodlands with the fern cover though. Me and my dog do love this time of year because the bugs are not so much a problem and I’m sure Meg would agree!
The only thing we can't get is the smell of the woodland after rain. It is normally beautiful. The Australian bush near where I live is dry and untidy and I thought a bit uninspiring but you have made me to go out and look more closely for compositions. They will be there. I have never minded shooting in the rain. We are currently in the middle of a drought and so I will keep my fingers crossed. I love your videos, Meg and your vision. (Not necessarily in that order.) Keep going for as long as you can young man.
Glad you mentioned the bit about the polarizer. I was going to ask. Looks like a great outing and just beautiful images. Miss Meg adds so much and it's great to see her happy life out and about with you.
What a lovely, uplifting video. You have such a great love of nature and it shows in your photography and the care you take in the composition. And I love Meg. She’s a beautiful girl. A very informative video for a photography enthusiast who has just bought her first DSLR camera. A Canon EOS 30D. Thank you. 😃👍
Great to see and your results. I just quite recently as a keen landscape photographer came to see and realise the wonderful unique images to offer when it's raining. I have now since invested in a special bracket mount to couple my tripod to an umbrella allowing me to shoot hands free in the rain whilst using the tripod for it's intended purpose. I live in Carlisle and travel extensively through the Cumbria county. Will be looking at getting out at the first opportunity and I do have a lovely location in mind in the Lake District.
Your videos are just as relaxing and interesting to watch as your photos are. There is always something to learn and for some reason, your videos boosts my creativity too. Keep up the good work! Looking forward to your next video.
Oh man, how you see that first image is mystifying, watching the video I’m muttering ‘what the hell are you seeing there’🤔, then on the image reveal ‘oh yeah, that’ 🤩 😀.
Absolutely blown away by your work, it's just the type of photography I hope to achieve someday. So emotional yet, subtle - a true representation of the beauty we have around us. Great work and thank you for the inspiration.
Fantastic video, im really getting into my woodland photography this year and spend this weekend in a great bit of woods in the heavy rain and loved it.
Inspirational, as usual. Great discussion of the composition for both compositions. I appreciated your discussion of why leave the polarizer in the bag. Good to see Meg on high energy.
Hi Simon. You never fail to motivate me to get back out into woodland. We'll have plenty of practice at shooting in the rain this week if the forecast is right !! Your first image here is so full of atmosphere and lovely tones - beautiful ! Many thanks for sharing another fantastic video.
I remember when I started to change my mindset for shooting under the rain. I now put my rain gear on, and learn to enjoy this different atmosphere, I love how woodland completely differ. I spent 3 hours doing macro shots under pouring rain the first time, and smiling even. Great video bud, love your shot, love the composition!!
You just gave a swift kick in the rump: I live in the woodlands where it rains a often - but I rarely want to go out unless there is good mixed light. Thanks for the attitude check ~ there's is always a photo to be taken out there...now grab your gear and get out!
I took myself out to some local woodland on Saturday in the pouring rain and, although I got soaking wet, I really felt the benefit of it...and I was pretty pleased with the shots I managed to grab too. Given I was cursing myself for forgetting my polariser, your comment about preferring not to use one in woodland photography helped me to make peace with myself over that. So this video was perfectly timed :)
I just got back from a week of Fall Color shooting here in Colorado. I shoot the big scenes of course, but I also get a few intimate shots as well when I do this. These photos were definitely nice under very challenging conditions. I don't get out in the rain so my hat is off to you. Can't wait to see how your Fall shots come out.
A lovely enjoyable video. But the weather was so grim I was expecting James Burns to turn up. Yet again you decipher the code of the woodland and make beautiful pictures. I always watch your process of composition whist trying to see what it is that you are seeing. It's a jumble, like looking at a page of Chinese text. Then you press the shutter - turning a 'metaphorical' diopter - and your photo makes sense and is beautiful. 👌
Wonderful video! I love the first image you got. it might be one of my favorite all time of yours. I'm not sure that I can put a finger on it, I think it might be the rain and the mood that really set's it apart. great stuff!
I am so glad you decided to compromise and do this video! I learned a lot from it. Let me add a few small suggestions. First, as you said, look for breaks in the forest canopy to provide good light. However, also look for areas of deep shade. Put one of those behind you and you may be able to enhance shadows. For wet or waxy leaves, I still often use a polarizer. Remember that you can turn it to get varying levels of reflections. In a recent video, Thomas Heaton demonstrated a “polarization stack” where you take two images, one with the polarizer at full and one at null. You can then blend them in post processing. I’m super excited to try this. Also, I believe Photo Tom (Toma Bonciu) and perhaps others have pointed out that a telephoto compresses distance and therefore makes fog look thicker.
Very nice images. It would be nice to see how you processed them from the raw file. They have an almost painterly effect to them that I like very much.
First time watching this, loved it, and yes shooting in the rain is well worth going out for, could not agree more, thank you for a great video, and vlog.
Great vlog and wonderful image. I’m watching this video as I’m due to go out with a mate to do photography this Friday and the weather is supposed to be dire. Haven’t seen him for over a year and we may not get a chance for another year so we go to get out there in the rain. This vlog has made me realise photos can be had in these conditions 👍
Thanks for the video I hope some day to do a vacation in UK to some of the places you and others talk about. Here in high desert of California I can only dream now.
1) You already had me at photographing in the rain. 2) You ALSO already had me at photographing in the woods. 3) Just about everything - yep, you had me. 4) Seeing that you plant a tree for every workshop makes me want to fly out there and take your workshop just because you're an awesome guy. While that may happen someday, the extra carbon footprint for the trip from California may offset that tree, just a bit. 5) Don't mind that Tom guy, he's a jerk. :P
stunning work ,,i love all the shots.. u have a great eye for detail n composition ! unfortunately i have no camera as of rightnow waiting on my pre-order for 2 months now ..hopefully ill get it soon so i can get my butt in the woods n start shooting !!!!!!!!!!!!
Funny after updating my iPhone and playing with the new photo editing tabs, I had to look up what a photographer has to say about these. I didn’t know that there were this many controls that influence visual acuity. Contrast, brilliance, sharpness, exposure, highlight, brightness, shadow, vibrance, saturation, black point, tint, noise reduction, warmth, definition, vignette. Dang that’s a lot! Before, if you asked me to name these I would have said: Exposure, brightness, shadow, contrast, sharpness, warmth.
Wonderful images you've captured in the rain Simon two I liked the most were at 7:59 and 12:16 loved the water in the last one gives the image a lovely colour balance bottom right and complements the bright canopy of the oak tree as you mentioned. Cheers Carl
When it rains our surroundings are somehow transformed. What is hard is now softer, what is harsh is now mellow.... the air brims with freshness... tones and hues are more beautiful... I love the rain!
Meg just seems like the best dog. I get such a feeling of joy from her. It's a good life.
I love dogs! They can add a nice touch to a video.
I, too, have said I love to photograph things that others would walk past and not even notice. I love to capture the beauty other people may not have noticed.
Meg surely isn't bothered. Most people don't believe me when I tell them gloomy and misty is the best time to be in the woods. Another nice lesson. Rock on!
I always find it amusing that you apologize for your images with their "imperfections" or their "tensions". Your work is stunning and beautifully dynamic in its stillness and simple grandeur of the moment. You are an inspiration and a joy.
Haha, I think it's healthy to be honest about any potential issues but I guess it's my job to take on the challenges until I can make it work :) Many thanks, Mike!
Love your videos, and seeing Meg. My dog Gabriel passed away last month from Cancer and I stumbled upon this video, and right away was teleported back into walking the woods with him photographing birds and nature.
Thanks for all the videos.
Don't think I've ever seen a happier dog than Meg 😊
Love your approach to photography and your enthusiasm towards the natural look and feel of woodlands. It is nice to see a photographer who can not only capture atmosphere but allow the viewer to feel what you feel as you narrate your sessions.
I love trees. You make trees the star. Cinematic!
I especially like how tree bark darkens and visually stands out when wet.
Very inspiring video, Simon and beautiful images. Lovely soft music too.
I enjoyed watching you and Meg very much, thanks for another nice video.
Great video as always. Apart from the always amazing photography, it's just nice to be out with a man and his crazy dog in the woods:)
Cheers buddy. Many thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed it :)
Quality vlog as always. 💪 Woodlands never stop giving do they, not just photographically, but just for the joy of walking around and seeing little scenic vignettes. Every visit to the same woodland, down the same trail is always different, always rewarding. 🙂
Cannot agree more with you regarding shooting in the rain. Excellent time to capture greenery. 👍👍👍👍
As always outstanding Photography. ....love it.
I feel I've said this before but I'll say it again. Your videos are so inspirational, whenever I watch your videos I only wish I were within my local woodland, taking images. Beautifully done as ever, Simon.
Much appreciated, as always, Matthew :)
Your ability to create wonderful compositions from the chaos is amazing. Love that first image...
Thanks for motivating me to get out more often, even in the rain. Lovely images. And, as always, Meg's antics make me smile.
Thanks ... I really like how you demonstrate the process of going into the woods and finding compositions within what most would see as natural chaos!
Simon Baxter notification, woodland photography, no brainer. Cuppa coffee, sit down and enjoy. Great video and great images. Thanks for sharing!! Oh, and what is a YT video without the awesome Megatron!!
As always, many thanks for your kind feedback, Tim :)
Where I see mangled green and brown clumps, you see an exquisite composition. I do envy your woodlands with the fern cover though. Me and my dog do love this time of year because the bugs are not so much a problem and I’m sure Meg would agree!
The only thing we can't get is the smell of the woodland after rain. It is normally beautiful. The Australian bush near where I live is dry and untidy and I thought a bit uninspiring but you have made me to go out and look more closely for compositions. They will be there.
I have never minded shooting in the rain. We are currently in the middle of a drought and so I will keep my fingers crossed.
I love your videos, Meg and your vision. (Not necessarily in that order.)
Keep going for as long as you can young man.
Thank you very much, Richard :)
I'm from Kerala , India , a place were always raining . I'm waiting for a video like this ,
Wonderful video Simon. Rain in the woodland is magical and the enjoyment of you and Meg, shines through.
That's very kind, thank you :-)
Gorgeous photos. Thanks for sharing.
Great video and post production. Love your dog hanging out with you 😊
You have given me a new inspiration to do photography in the rain. Thank you for sharing this video.
Just brilliant, in my neck of the woods too, pardon the pun. Very excited to see more of your videos!
You must to be happy,and me too,because you has been a big influencer in my work and i ve learned to look the wood with other eyes
I am here after watching Sean Tucker’s video featuring your self,amazing work bro,loved your four legged friend too.❤️🙏
I went out in the rain to the new forest on Saturday.. it was completely magical and I got some of my best ever shots. Thanks for the video Simon!
Amazing photo ♥️ so nice atmosphere, there is nothing more beautiful than the wet leaves and the sound of the rain drops on them ♥️
I love it,photography like that☔
Glad you mentioned the bit about the polarizer. I was going to ask. Looks like a great outing and just beautiful images. Miss Meg adds so much and it's great to see her happy life out and about with you.
A Simon Baxter photo video in the old school! Superb!
It felt nice to do a regular 'let's go for a wander' video :) Thank you.
What a lovely, uplifting video. You have such a great love of nature and it shows in your photography and the care you take in the composition. And I love Meg. She’s a beautiful girl. A very informative video for a photography enthusiast who has just bought her first DSLR camera. A Canon EOS 30D. Thank you. 😃👍
This is absolutely amazing. I'm heading out to the forest tomorrow.
Great to see and your results. I just quite recently as a keen landscape photographer came to see and realise the wonderful unique images to offer when it's raining. I have now since invested in a special bracket mount to couple my tripod to an umbrella allowing me to shoot hands free in the rain whilst using the tripod for it's intended purpose. I live in Carlisle and travel extensively through the Cumbria county. Will be looking at getting out at the first opportunity and I do have a lovely location in mind in the Lake District.
I live in Washington State and prefer rain over sunshine. Great video, thanks for sharing. Give Meg a scratch on the head for me.
Your videos are just as relaxing and interesting to watch as your photos are. There is always something to learn and for some reason, your videos boosts my creativity too. Keep up the good work! Looking forward to your next video.
That's fantastic to know, thank you :)
Oh man, how you see that first image is mystifying, watching the video I’m muttering ‘what the hell are you seeing there’🤔, then on the image reveal ‘oh yeah, that’ 🤩 😀.
Haha, cheers Steve. I'll take you to it next year if you like ;-)
And watch me walk right past it 🙄😀
Absolutely blown away by your work, it's just the type of photography I hope to achieve someday. So emotional yet, subtle - a true representation of the beauty we have around us. Great work and thank you for the inspiration.
Thank you very much, Rachel! Much appreciated!
Top image again first one was wicked
thank you for the beautiful photos , as always.As always? no I think you're getting better and better refining your natural talent .Meg is lovely!
Many thanks, much appreciated :)
Fantastic video, im really getting into my woodland photography this year and spend this weekend in a great bit of woods in the heavy rain and loved it.
Inspirational, as usual. Great discussion of the composition for both compositions. I appreciated your discussion of why leave the polarizer in the bag. Good to see Meg on high energy.
Thank you very much, Frank :)
Hi Simon. You never fail to motivate me to get back out into woodland. We'll have plenty of practice at shooting in the rain this week if the forecast is right !! Your first image here is so full of atmosphere and lovely tones - beautiful ! Many thanks for sharing another fantastic video.
That's very kind, Tim. Thank you!
Really enjoyed your video and photography. Many thanks 😊🙏
Beautiful photos Simon.The first shot was a "killer". Can´t wait to see that image again in some fog for comparison. Cute Meg loved the rain that day.
Many thanks! I can't tell you how keen I am to experience special conditions at this location :)
Cracking video. Like the selfie one the best. Nice colours.
Love the wet sheen and that wonderful woodland tangle in the last image. Hugs too Meg.
Really appreciate the teaching aspect of your videos Simon and this one was superb. Images were really grand!
Very inspirational, thank you. Would like to have heard more of your techniques and seen more of your results though
I remember when I started to change my mindset for shooting under the rain. I now put my rain gear on, and learn to enjoy this different atmosphere, I love how woodland completely differ. I spent 3 hours doing macro shots under pouring rain the first time, and smiling even.
Great video bud, love your shot, love the composition!!
Thanks for your kind feedback, Damien :)
You just gave a swift kick in the rump: I live in the woodlands where it rains a often - but I rarely want to go out unless there is good mixed light. Thanks for the attitude check ~ there's is always a photo to be taken out there...now grab your gear and get out!
You sure do have an eye for woodland photography. Another great video!
Many thanks, James :-)
I'm glad you kept the steam in that shot.
I took myself out to some local woodland on Saturday in the pouring rain and, although I got soaking wet, I really felt the benefit of it...and I was pretty pleased with the shots I managed to grab too. Given I was cursing myself for forgetting my polariser, your comment about preferring not to use one in woodland photography helped me to make peace with myself over that. So this video was perfectly timed :)
great photography and meg too - most enjoyable
Happy dog, happy vlog! Lovely images as always Simon. Cheers!
I just got back from a week of Fall Color shooting here in Colorado. I shoot the big scenes of course, but I also get a few intimate shots as well when I do this. These photos were definitely nice under very challenging conditions. I don't get out in the rain so my hat is off to you. Can't wait to see how your Fall shots come out.
Many thanks, Danny :)
And........there's Meg 😂👍
I agree with you about using a polarizer on foliage. I may sometime, but I've not found a reason to date.
That's beautiful, love that cool tone on Image No.1
Wow, you really create magic!
Beautiful photos, you really achieved what you were looking for. Congratulations, I loved your work. Greetings from Cancun, Mexico.
Great video! Please do more !
Really enjoyed watching that Simon, I’m looking forward to looking st your back catalogue and your future videos.
Much appreciated, Dave :)
Great video! Loved how Meg stole your line with her voice!
She likes to have her say ;). Thanks!
Think i need to get myself out in the rain!
A lovely enjoyable video. But the weather was so grim I was expecting James Burns to turn up. Yet again you decipher the code of the woodland and make beautiful pictures. I always watch your process of composition whist trying to see what it is that you are seeing. It's a jumble, like looking at a page of Chinese text. Then you press the shutter - turning a 'metaphorical' diopter - and your photo makes sense and is beautiful. 👌
Much appreciated, Andy. I'm pleased you like the end result :)
Wonderful video! I love the first image you got. it might be one of my favorite all time of yours. I'm not sure that I can put a finger on it, I think it might be the rain and the mood that really set's it apart. great stuff!
That's very kind, than you. I'm rather fond of it, too :)
Just came by here and I think it's graaat 😁 Subscribed!
Many thanks :)
Cool video nice
I am so glad you decided to compromise and do this video! I learned a lot from it. Let me add a few small suggestions. First, as you said, look for breaks in the forest canopy to provide good light. However, also look for areas of deep shade. Put one of those behind you and you may be able to enhance shadows. For wet or waxy leaves, I still often use a polarizer. Remember that you can turn it to get varying levels of reflections. In a recent video, Thomas Heaton demonstrated a “polarization stack” where you take two images, one with the polarizer at full and one at null. You can then blend them in post processing. I’m super excited to try this. Also, I believe Photo Tom (Toma Bonciu) and perhaps others have pointed out that a telephoto compresses distance and therefore makes fog look thicker.
Very nice images. It would be nice to see how you processed them from the raw file. They have an almost painterly effect to them that I like very much.
Beautiful images👌. I am impressed by the way your capture simplicity in an area with so many distractions. Chapeau👌👌.
Many thanks! It's challenging but massively rewarding when it works :)
Thanks very much Simon , nice share mate TC.
Came for the title stayed for the dog. Good stuff
Thank you! Meg is the original and best ;-P
Sorry Simon looks like Mag has taken over your TH-cam slot 😂.
But brilliant stuff again Simon really enjoy watching and picking up your ideas thanks 👍
It's better to look at Meg's face rather than mine ;-) Thank you!
Meg's having the best walk ever! How often did she photobomb your shot? My dog does it all the time.
Great video Simon
First time watching this, loved it, and yes shooting in the rain is well worth going out for, could not agree more,
thank you for a great video, and vlog.
Great vlog and wonderful image. I’m watching this video as I’m due to go out with a mate to do photography this Friday and the weather is supposed to be dire. Haven’t seen him for over a year and we may not get a chance for another year so we go to get out there in the rain. This vlog has made me realise photos can be had in these conditions 👍
Many thanks. Hope you have a successful outing!
Fantastico! Molto bravo, ottimo video. Il tuo cane è eccezionale. Complimenti, rendere l’atmosfera con la pioggia non è facile, molto bravo.
Thanks for the video I hope some day to do a vacation in UK to some of the places you and others talk about. Here in high desert of California I can only dream now.
The Chinese landscape painters speak of a host/guest relationship when painting groupings of trees.
1) You already had me at photographing in the rain.
2) You ALSO already had me at photographing in the woods.
3) Just about everything - yep, you had me.
4) Seeing that you plant a tree for every workshop makes me want to fly out there and take your workshop just because you're an awesome guy. While that may happen someday, the extra carbon footprint for the trip from California may offset that tree, just a bit.
5) Don't mind that Tom guy, he's a jerk. :P
stunning work ,,i love all the shots.. u have a great eye for detail n composition ! unfortunately i have no camera as of rightnow waiting on my pre-order for 2 months now ..hopefully ill get it soon so i can get my butt in the woods n start shooting !!!!!!!!!!!!
Many thanks :-). Hope your new camera arrives soon!
Lovely images 👍 video was very inspiring as always. Cheers, Graham
Nice environment
Great, as ever.
I live 20 minutes from the Hoh rainforest. If I never get out in the rain I would never leave home :)
Oh how I want to visit that place!
Funny after updating my iPhone and playing with the new photo editing tabs, I had to look up what a photographer has to say about these. I didn’t know that there were this many controls that influence visual acuity.
Contrast, brilliance, sharpness, exposure, highlight, brightness, shadow, vibrance, saturation, black point, tint, noise reduction, warmth, definition, vignette. Dang that’s a lot!
Before, if you asked me to name these I would have said:
Exposure, brightness, shadow, contrast, sharpness, warmth.
Its raining here today. That's what inspired me to watch this now. The question is. Should I go out and get wet?
Who are the crazy people that dislike videos like this?? Wtf
Haha. I wish I knew, Pedro :)
Envious folk most likely.
Good one
Wonderful images you've captured in the rain Simon two I liked the most were at 7:59 and 12:16 loved the water in the last one gives the image a lovely colour balance bottom right and complements the bright canopy of the oak tree as you mentioned.
Cheers Carl
Many thanks, Carl. Glad you like them!
A very enjoyable episode Simon and both images were great. Thought the stream in the second image worked well with the rest of the scene.
Thanks, Scotty. Much appreciated!