MATT STANSFIELD

A PHOTOGRAPHY BLOG

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Dartmoor-Great Staple Tor

Wow, what a fantastic night photographing Dartmoor this morning. I knew this weekend would be my last opportunity this month to photograph starry skies due to the moon cycle, so I wanted to make the most of the clear skies. I originally planned to visit Kennick Reservoir, but wasn’t sure on the accessibility of the roads after the recent wintery weather. So, decided to revisit Staple Tor to build on some ideas gathered from my previous shoot there.

 I wasn’t sure on what to expect from the shoot regarding the snow cover, or how the night sky would look. However, it transpired to be a surreal and fantastic night under the stars. The Tor was covered by an inch of snow, which transformed the whole landscape. Everything seemed much brighter, and you could easily walk around without a torch. Of course, the galactic core of the Milkyway galaxy isn’t viewable this time of year from the northern hemisphere, but the Orion Spur and Perseus Arm of the Milkyway looked fabulous arching over the snow covered landscape.

 This picture was my final panoramic from the night. I wanted to show the arch of the Milkyway, with a human element to add scale. Staple Tor consists of a gateway of two rock stacks opposite each other. Interestingly on my previous shoot to the tour, I photographed the Central part of Milkyway arching over the East stack, while last night I captured the outer edge of the Milkyway arch over the west stack. It’s fascinating how much the night skies changes throughout the year.

 I photographed till around 3am, making the most of the starry snow covered scene, before I was finally defeated by the cold. A good night to remember! You can keep up to date with my recent night photography or order wall art from my website: www.cornwalllandscapephotography.co.uk.

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Anyone who follows my photography might recognize this composition from a previous shoot I did. My last shoot down here was successful but unfortunately cloud cover cute the shoot short before I could try a star trail capture, so I decided to make the most of the clear skies last night and re-shoot.

Looe is always a really photogenic place to photograph and I was pretty happy with the results. I starting capturing the star trails just after twilight, so there was still a hint of colour in the sky. The blue lights at the end of the poor are from fisherman and you can also see a small meteor to the left centre of the sky. 

This picture is also available to buy through emailing me at [email protected] or by visiting my website at www.cornwalllandscapephotography.co.uk

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This photograph was taken from a great shoot I did with Francesca. We used natural light and the countryside around Cornwall as the location. She was fantastic to work with, and it was nice to photograph some portraiture using solely natural light.  

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This is a picture from fantastic wedding I photographed in July. Becca and Dan got married at Calstock church before celebrating the rest of their day at the wonderful Whitsand Bay Hotel. There were many brilliant aspects to their day including this fantastic bouncy castle, which was a perfect photo opportunity.

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A few weeks ago, after checking the forecast, I decided it would be a good opportunity to travel to Durdle Door in Dorset to photograph the Milky Way.

 Durdle Door is probably one of the most recognizable beaches in the UK, primarily because of its natural rock arch. This part of the coastline is surreal and beautiful, which unfortunately my pictures can’t really do justice too.

 Asides from the striking beauty of this place, what really surprised me was the amount of photographers that were out shooting. I arrived around midnight and photographed till 3am, and throughout that time, there was around 20 photographers on the beach and surrounded cliffs taking pictures. Normally I wont see a soul anywhere when shooting around Cornwall, so it made a nice change to be able to share stories and advice while waiting for the exposures.

 Through this shoot, I wanted to show a sense of the atmosphere and beauty of the locations. I was also fortunate enough to witness an amazing light display from Noctilucent Clouds just before the first light of dawn. I have never seen anything quite like it before, but it was certainly one of the highlights of the trip!

You can see more of my night photography on my website: www.cornwalllandscapephotography.co.uk

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Another capture from my Durdle Door shoot in Dorset. More of my night photography can be viewed on my website: www.cornwalllandscapephotography.co.uk 

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I had a number of enjoyable dives this summer around Cornwall. On this particular dive there were hundreds of these beautiful Compass jellyfish swimming around.

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It isn’t often that the sea swell gets big enough in the summer for this beach break to work, but when it does it is amazing fun!

I have the full collection on my surf photography website here. Above are a few of my favourite pictures from the session.

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A composite using a portrait of Fran taken from a recent portrait shoot I did.

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I spent a few hours at Colestock Parish Church yesterday for the wedding rehearsal of Becky and Dan. I can’t wait for their wedding at the weekend!

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A photograph I recently captured showing a different angle of Cardiff skyline.  

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This starry scene was captured a few months ago at a beach called Mother Ivey’s Bay. The night of this shoot was incredibility atmospheric, and the sky beautifully clear. I spent three hours in total photographing around this bay, with this picture being the first from the shoot, but the last picture to edit.

A kind reminder that my photographs are available to purchase as wall art directly through my website at www.cornwalllandscapephotography.co.uk, or by emailing me at [email protected]. 

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Yesterday I visited Stonehenge after spending a few days in Wilshire.  It was a fascinating place to see and walk around. Unfortunately, the light was poor for colour photography, but the dramatic sky made it interesting for black & white work. I would love to visit again, and spend more time photographing here in better light or at night.

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I photographed the wonderful wedding of Phil and Naomi at the end of last April. The wedding took place at The Bedruthan Hotel and Spa; a beautiful hotel located on the North Coast of Cornwall.

The day really reflected Phil and Naomi as a couple, being really relaxed, fun, and full of great people and memorable moments. I photographed their celebration from Naomi's morning preparation till the conclusion of the speeches. A fabulous day to be part of and document! A few picture highlights from their day.

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A few nights ago I photographed the moonrise over Millendreath. This wasn’t my original plan as I wanted to photograph the Milkyway but miss-read the moonrise time! You can just faintly see the Milky to the top right corner of the picture. More of my night photography can be seen at www.cornwalllandscapephotography.co.uk

[mattstansfield]

I spent a few hours yesterday afternoon exploring the south east coast of Cornwall. There is a chance of thundery weather along the coast in the coming days and I wanted to have some location ideas ready incase I decided to photograph the storms.

 While walking along a part of the coast called Limmicks, I noticed a few interesting coastal caves in the direction of Bodiggs Cliffs. Unfortunately the tide was too high to reach them from where I was, so I noted down the location to visit later in the evening.

 Later that evening I travelled to Millendreath (the location of the caves) to take a closer look at the caves and do some night photography. However, I forgot about the moonrise being at 1.20am so the sky was brighter then I expected and therefore, images of the Milkyway were not going to be possible.  

 This meant I had to alter my original shoot plan, so I decided to photograph night portraits in the cave and on the jetty instead. I was happily surprised in how the picture came out and would like to try the same pictures again on a darker night.

[mattstansfield]

Black Tor Falls is a surreal looking waterfall located close to Burrator on Dartmoor. The remote location meant light pollution was at a minimum, allowing the stars to appear beautifully vivid.