Taking aerial images requires a fair bit of planning. My style of imagery is usually directly from above. So when I passed Dauntless Boatyard on a train a few weeks back i decided i needed to get above it to show it from a different perspective. Sometimes you go to a location for a specific shot and end up finding a host of other opportunities that you didn’t know were there.
I love finding locations with the opportunity of abstract top-down shots. My background is in design, so I see the composition as an artwork rather than a photo. A graphic. If i find a possible location then I research it, look at it on Google Earth and see what it has to offer. Which is what I did with Dauntless Boatyard in Benfleet, Essex.
The composition was there, I just had to get above it. The tide didn’t bother me with this one as I believed both would work regardless. Seeing something we walk past everyday from a perspective we’ve never seen before is something that excites me.
The boats on the boatyard seem to knit together, all placed like a mosaic against each other, filling gaps in the yard. There's no hustle and bustle, but each boat has had work applied at some point to get it where it is. Just metres from the boatyard was a bridge that gave me a diagonal abstract shot. These are the shots I love taking.
While at the location I also came across a boat wreck that I hadn’t planned for. Just across from Benfleet Station. Marooned in the mud of Benfleet Creek, a decaying wooden fishing boat had slowly been reclaimed by the estuary. Its broken hull and skeletal timbers reflected the fading legacy of the working vessels that once served the Thames Estuary. The colours captivated me, almost giving a feeling that the wreck was on the bottom of a sea bed.
The boats on the boatyard seem to knit together, all placed like a mosaic against each other, filling gaps in the yard. There's no hustle and bustle, but each boat has had work applied at some point to get it where it is. Just metres from the boatyard was a bridge that gave me a diagonal abstract shot. These are the shots I love taking.
While at the location I also came across a boat wreck that I hadn’t planned for. Just across from Benfleet Station. Marooned in the mud of Benfleet Creek, a decaying wooden fishing boat had slowly been reclaimed by the estuary. Its broken hull and skeletal timbers reflected the fading legacy of the working vessels that once served the Thames Estuary. The colours captivated me, almost giving a feeling that the wreck was on the bottom of a sea bed.
See the final images:
'Reclaimed By The Tide' photograph
'Harbour Mosaic' and 'Colour Adrift' are available as fine art prints in a range of sizes.
Sometimes there's a place where you can go to a hundred times, and take a hundred photos every time. Hadleigh Castle is one of them places.
The castle ruins here completely captivate me. When I put the drone up I always think that when the castle was built around 1215, those that building it had no idea that someone would be flying a camera around it 800 or so years later, admiring the work that was put into building it. Most of my photos here are focused around the twin drum towers which were added by king Edward III in the 1360's, making it a royal residence.
A photograph can always be improved. If I'm after a certain shot then I'm prepared to come back until I achieve it. A lot of the time the stars have to align for that to happen. And that's okay.
The towers at Hadleigh provide an imposing photograph when it comes together. I like to play with monochrome post-processing images from Hadleigh. The towers can look great in monochrome.
My design background always looks for the lines in composition. My top down photos rely on this. But with Hadleigh most of my shots are side on. I feel that in most cases here, shooting top down doesn't do it justice. That said, I have taken top down images of the foundations at Hadleigh.
Taking aerial photographs in a location like this can be a challenge. With drone rules and regulations, what starts as a quiet photo shoot can soon descend into a hazardous situation. But if you see a drone operator then please come and talk to us. We aren't there to disrupt. We're there to bring a different perspective and we are more than happy to talk about what we do and educate where possible.
As a footnote the quote I provided here was made by John Constable during a tour of the South Essex in 1814 with his friend, The Reverend W.W. Driffield. In a letter to his future wife, Maria Bicknell, he also said "At Hadleigh there is a ruin of a castle which from its situation is really a fine place - it commands a view of the Kent hills, the nore and north foreland and looking many miles to the sea." His painting Hadleigh Castle, the Mouth of the Thames - Morning after a Stormy Night is hung at the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven Connecticut, USA. His large scale oil sketch for the painting is displayed at Tate Britain in London.
See the final images:
'Foundations In Formation' photograph
'Lone Tower Over Open Ground' photograph
'Sentinel Across The Fields' photograph
'Standing Through Time' photograph
My photos of Hadleigh are available as fine art prints in a range of sizes.
Not too far from where I live is Wat Tyler Country Park in Essex. It's an area of beauty, nature and wildlife
Situated within the park is Wat Tyler Marina on the Vange Creek. You'll find here a boat wreck, surrounded by history and stories. The boat is Light Vessel44 (LV44), built in 1869 and also known as Carnavon Bay or Newarp, it served at the Newarp Station in the North Sea off the Norfolk coast.
After World War II the vessel was decommissioned, becoming a floating clubhouse for yacht clubs before being brought to Pitsea and the sadly abandoned in the creek during the 20th century.
When I first moved here I would regularly sit at the side of the vessel on the banks with my dog, watching the fox walk up and down the deck, looking for food. When I got my first drone this was one of the first places I took it. I could see the potential and after the first flight saw the possibilities of the creative shots available at this great location.
Photographing wrecks and ruins like the Lightship brings out the character in the subject. Every one has its own history and story, and capturing the in part of their journey is humbling. In the same way that I like to shoot the Hadleigh ruins side on, the same applies here within the Lightship. Seeing the weathered wood, the moss growing on the top of the ship, gives it a life through decay.
Taking top down photos here is also fascinating though. Seeing a familiar sight from angles never seen before opens our eyes to things that we previously didn't know existed.
See the final images:
'Monochrome Mooring' photograph
'Tethered Stillness' photograph
'Where The Creek Turns' photograph
'Tethered Stillness' is available as fine art print in a range of sizes.
We so are lucky to live 25 metres from a nature reserve. Across from my home is Vange Marsh, a mixture of fresh and saltwater lagoons. A haven for birdwatching enthusiasts.
This is the first place I came to when I started flying drones.If you go to maximum height you can get clear views of Wat Tyler Country Park and Tilbury Docks. Bring it down closer to earth and you have the large lagoon and reedbeds on the marsh.These provide some great abstract top down photos, revealing the beds and the winding waterways.
The seasons also throw up a lot of different scenarios. If you come over on a cold, crisp winters morning there are fantastic shots to be had. But you have to be respectful especially during Spring and Summer of the birds that reside here. Disturbing them during nesting periods is not advised. Also, during the summer, the marsh is home to a herd of residential cattle.
As a drone pilot, you also have to bear in mind that C@C rail services run parallel with the marshland, with electric overhead cables a hazard.
Over the years I have taken hundreds upon hundreds of photos and videos at the marsh. The ones that fascinate me are when the brackish lagoon is empty and it reveals the dry bed. The patterns, shapes, textures suddenly bring the empty bed to life. Autumn at the marsh really brings out the gold and browns too. I love this place.
See the final images:
'Patterns of Pasture' photograph
'Tethered Stillness' is available as fine art print in a range of sizes.
For me. someone that wants abstract, top down shots, this is the place to go. The estuary is the glue that holds Leigh together. The views across the Thames Estuary, be it high or low tide, is worth the visit alone. I love mudflats (you may have already noticed that by seeing my photos). When water resides it reveals so many things .
When I put my drone up I look for the buoys stuck in the mud, the ropes laid across the flats that all lead somewhere. The barnacles on the hulls of the boats laid in the mud. I love it, It’s the little details like that that catch my eye when I look at other photographers photos. The small, quirky things that lead to imagination.
You’ll also find along the seawall the cockle boat, Endeavour (LO41), one of the small boats from Essex that contributed to the efforts in Dunkirk. Leigh-On-Sea certainly has a rich history. You also have Two Tree Island if you like nature and bird-watching. If you like seafood then the historic Old Town is home to traditional cockle and seafood sheds.
My photos from Leigh have been taken while the mudflats were visible. I love how you can have one shot with two lonely boats, while metres away they is a group of them crammed together in a tight space.
See the final images:
'Low Tide Study' and 'Low Tide Silence' are available as fine art prints in a range of sizes.
