Often as a photographer you have to return to a location on several occasions until you get the picture you envisioned. More often than not this is the case. As I have said before we rely on good light to get our best images and the weather doesn’t always play along for us.
Today was definitely not one of those days (or mornings) for me. I decided it was time to return to Brentor in Devon to grab the snap that I have wanted for a long time of Brentor church. Perched on top of the tor it is in my opinion the most striking example of an English church that I have seen and I’m sure that anyone of you that have seen it will be inclined to agree.
The first time I visited this place was two years ago for a picnic with friends, It wasn’t a particularly nice day, quite the opposite but I took a picture nonetheless….
My first encounter with Brentor church
Not a bad picture by any means but definitely not what I would have liked to have captured. To the left (East) of this scene (out of view), Dartmoor is situated and the tors rise sharply on the horizon I could picture it in my head, the early morning sun poking over the top and filling my lens with all those lovely photons. That was it!, my mind was set on returning to this location at another time in the very early hours.
Move on sixteen months to early December 2016 and that’s what I did , gear packed, alarm set extra early as the forecast was frost!. That morning was very icy indeed but fortunately I made it there in one piece which is always a bonus, but here is the shocker, as I was making my way up the path to Brentor church I noticed that it was clearly undergoing repairs (this is good for the church obviously, but not for my pictures) and had scaffolding up the sides……..well it was a very clear crisp day and I got some pictures anyway but the pictures still were not what I desired.
The second attempt
As you can see it was a beautiful morning but the image overall is ruined by the scaffolding on the building.
So that brings us to today , Monday 30th October 2017, almost a year later and the trip this morning paid off for me, as I now have the image I have been waiting over two years to capture.
Got it!
Sometimes everything comes together for that image, other times it doesn’t but don’t be put off, keep at it and keep persevering and you will eventually get that picture.
As always please don’t hesitate to contact me for any advice or tips with your own photography.
Stephen Tolley Photography 