Top pro landscape photography settings

Niall Benvie – Saligo Bay on Islay

There is nothing but open ocean between here and the coast of Labrador. The volcanic rocks seem to be pacing themselves for eternity but the waves have worried this bit of coastline ragged. Even on quite calm days, huge waves hammer into the headlands, and when an easterly blows, they can be shot without being drenched in spray.

Jeremy Walker – Isle of Skye, Scotland

Skye is a beautiful, rugged island that’s a landscape photographer’s dream. The highlight though must be the Old Man of Storr. It requires a one-and-a-half-hour walk up, which is a supreme effort for me (too many sticky buns, I’m afraid) but oh boy is it worth the effort. Once up the views are breathtaking, especially in winter at sunrise. This is a landscape from another world, totally awe-inspiring and I tend to linger here for a while and enjoy the peace and solitude.

Tony Worobeic – Nash Point

This becomes a photographer’s paradise once the tide starts to retreat. The inter-tidal zone comprises a wonderful display of eroded rock formations which, in the right lighting, looks almost surreal. Looking out into the Bristol Channel, you can just make out the English coastline in the distance; but if you turn a full 180° you are presented with a beautifully formed headland that appears to glow in late evening light.

Craig Roberts – Spurn Head, East Yorkshire

This isolated beach on the East Yorkshire Coast is ideal to shoot in summer. Timing your visit to coincide with a low tide enables you to capture the lighthouse here from the beach. Use the groynes as foreground interest, using a wideangle lens to make the most of them, to lead the eye towards the lighthouse. The sand dunes add to the picture and any colour can be saturated with a polarising filter. For an alternative view, position yourself on the dunes and use the long grass swaying in the breeze as your foreground feature.

Adam Burton – Hartland Quay

The coastline of Devon is brimming with a rugged splendour. Hartland Point, located on the North Devon coast, is Devon’s equivalent to Land’s End. Known by the Romans as ‘the promontory of Hercules’, this is where the Atlantic and the Bristol Channel converge. The coastline has been beaten and contorted beyond belief, leaving spectacular rock formations to photograph, such as here at Hartland Quay.

Colin Varndell – Eggardon Hill

Eggardon Hill is my favourite location for photography, and it is often the highlight of the photographic workshops I run in West Dorset. Eggardon’s long hunched shape is stark and austere, but it is also a place of great beauty, boasting some of the most magnificent views in the west of England. It is also rich in natural history with chalk-loving flora and fauna, including national rarities in summer months.

Guy Edwardes – Corfe Castle

I frequently return to the ruins of Corfe Castle to capture it in different seasons and lighting conditions. The surrounding hills provide excellent vantage points from which to find a good composition. Dawn is undoubtedly the best time to be there as mist frequently forms around the base of the castle, helping to conceal modern elements in the landscape.