"He gets those shots handheld with a telephoto lens?"
Every now and then the work of another photographer can really capture your imagination. In this case I read an article about Mark Littlejohn whose work I have followed for some time. He focuses on capturing the ‘little moments’ when he is out and about, primarily using a 70-200mm telephoto lens and, dare I say it out loud, works handheld!
Now, that made me stop in my tracks… ‘he gets those shots handheld?’ Crikey!
Off to Dorset
In late summer I decided to go on a last-minute jaunt to Dorset. I didn’t want to shoot the honey pot locations, that wouldn’t suit what I had learned from the maestro. I researched my location, loaded the van and went with the intention of shooting a panorama of Swyre Head (not the one near Durdle Door), that’s all I wanted. But moreso, I really wanted to give the Mark Littlejohn approach a shot.
Summer traffic
After being stuck in an ALMIGHTY traffic jam I needed to stop, to give myself scope to notice things I may not normally have done, to react and try to capture a ‘little moment’ of my own. Oh, and of course capture that blasted pano that had been stuck in my head!
Outdoor Photography Magazine
It took a couple of visits and I confess to taking my tripod as I didn’t trust my skill at keeping my ‘beast’ of a telephoto lens stable. Unlike Mark Littlejohn, I decided to opt for my 100-400 lens as it was more versatile and I was nervous, but the issue is that it’s so blooming heavy; waving around like a loon was not an option so the tripod was my back up.
A 30-minute walk from the car park (while ignoring the instructions on google maps) afforded me the view that I desired but not the right conditions for the pano.
The view over Portland, however, was just spectacular with the clouds and resulting light conditions. I had my own light show with the crepuscular rays picking out sections of the foreground. Yes, I cheated as I couldn’t risk messing up with a handheld shot but, oh boy, am I glad I did.
There’s no doubt that had I not read that article and had I not decided to take a chance on a long lens only, I’d have missed the light show I was treated to. Lucky me.
Oh, and that pano? … well I got it the next day although it didn’t excite me like the other shot did.
