Each and every national park in the UK has its own distinct character, personality, and traits, which give it a unique appeal to those who venture into them. The North York Moors are no different, with incredible hills, valleys, moorland (of course), and a stunning coastline that flirts with a Cornish aesthetic while retaining a distinctly northern, industrial feel. It is proving to be a true delight for landscape photography.
The dry-stone walls, the sheep, and the gnarled old trees that stand overlooking footpaths and moorland all offer themselves as subjects, acting as anchors within a composition. I have found the intersection of the moor with the farmed valley floors to be particularly fruitful for photography, although I am still exploring which valleys work best.
It also has to be said that as we move through the year, the positions of sunrise and sunset shift steadily north, meaning that each scene I discover on my walks and drives, which I think might be suitable, is constantly changing. This can be great news, as it allows me to earmark locations for a future date and time, or to revisit the same spot and capture it in different light. This is one of the joys of the moors. Due to the many hills, which often obscure the light in the morning or evening, many locations are only suited to either sunrise or sunset.
Many of the seaside towns are best suited to sunrise, with the sun setting behind the cliffs or inland, casting the towns into shadow. For sunset, one has to venture into the moors and look west. Roseberry Topping and the Captain Cook Monument are two favourites, both offering numerous opportunities for landscape photography.
I am currently working to build both my content and my knowledge of the North York Moors as a landscape photography destination, with the aim of launching workshops. These will focus on teaching how to use your camera and how to photograph this incredible landscape, combining instinct and creativity with the technical understanding needed to achieve the image you have in mind.
I believe the North York Moors are an ideal place for this, as there are so many hidden compositions in every location. There are countless aesthetic elements that can be combined to create a compelling landscape image. I often think of it as assembling a jigsaw. You can have several photographers in the same location, each walking away with a completely different composition, or even multiple compositions of their own.
For the photos attached to this piece, I have used a number of different lenses: a 20–60mm Panasonic lens, a 28–45mm f/1.8 Sigma lens, and even some manual focus Voigtländer and Leica lenses, all mounted on the Leica SL (Typ 601). This demonstrates how the landscape can be captured effectively using a variety of approaches.
If you are interested in learning how to use your camera, and like the photos you have seen on my website, please do get in touch. I run photography workshops listed HERE, and I am also looking to trial workshops in the North York Moors, so please feel free to drop me an email to enquire. I would be happy to tailor a workshop to your needs. More of my landscape photography from the North York Moors can be viewed HERE.