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Landscape Group shoot - Waxham Beach (1)

  • Norwich & District Photographic Society Beach Rock Car Park, 62 Beach Road, Sea Palling, Norfolk, NR12 0UH United Kingdom (map)

The first Landscape Shoot of the new season will be at Waxham/Sea Palling Beach. This is an excellent location to capture a wide variety of images including wide expanses of beach taken from either the dunes and the shoreline and long-exposure shoots using ‘big-stopper’ filters to slow your shutter speed.

Special instructions
1) Ensure you wear sensible clothing for the weather and the appropriate footwear.
2) Please read the Health & Safety guidance for landscape shoots before joining the shoot
3) Meet in the car park by 6:00am for a collective briefing before the shoot and to allow time to get to the best locations before the new dawn.

Covid - 19 Restrictions on outdoor gatherings
Social gatherings of more than six people will be illegal in England from Monday 14 September - with some exemptions - amid a steep rise in coronavirus cases.
A law change will ban larger groups meeting anywhere socially indoors or outdoors, the government has said. But it will not apply to schools, workplaces or Covid-secure weddings, funerals, and organised team sports.

These restrictions will be enforced through a £100 fine if people fail to comply, doubling on each offence up to a maximum of £3,200.

In order to comply with these restrictions attendance on Landscape shoots will now be restricted to a MAXIMUM of six participants who will also be expected to socially distance and keep at least two metres from their colleagues during the shoot.
In addition, until the end of December 2020 there will be two shoots each month at the same location, one week apart, to allow those who normally attend the Landscape Group meetings to attend.
The situation will be reviewed at the end of the year.

Dawn rises at Waxham Beach

Dawn rises at Waxham Beach

The Landscape Group meets regularly throughout the year.  The exact location of the shoot is decided about two weeks before so that we can consider the local tide times out on the coast and also the forecast weather conditions we are likely to encounter.  Even then sometimes things do not go to plan and the plans can change even in the last few hours before to meet time.  For that reason it is recommended that members check the website for any last minute changes before travelling.

East Anglia is a special place that is famous for its big skies.  The predominantly flat landscapes are however, not easy to photograph, but the lack of elevation means the first and last light of day lingers a little longer – but when it all comes together it can be magic…!

The North Norfolk Coast – begins and ends with cliffs, rising in the west with the striped cliffs of Hunstanton and ending  with the those that undulate from Weybourne to the old seaside resort of Cromer with its ornate pier, sandy beach and crab fishing fleet.  In between there is more than forty-miles of flatter coastline that offers endless opportunities for photographers prepared to explore the patchwork of creeks, salt marshes and beaches.

The Broads and East Norfolk Coast is a unique landscape of lakes (broads), grazing marshes, reed beds and rivers dotted with windmills and quaint villages that are bounded on its eastern edge by windswept sandy beaches.  The most northerly sand dunes however, make way for crumbling cliffs and the advancing costal erosion that is occurring particularly around Happisburgh.

Also in reach is the Suffolk Coast stretching from Covehithe in the north to Bawrdsey in the south.  Meandering inland from the coast are the slow, sweeping estuaries flanked by reed beds and saltmarshes of the rivers Deben, Ore (later becoming the Alde) and Blyth.  Also of interest to photographers are the towns of Woodbridge and Framlingham with its medieval castle.

From September through until the clocks go forward to BST we meet early on a Sunday morning about one hour before sunrise and after the shoot around 10:00am it is not unusual for members to head off together for a well earned breakfast.  After, the clocks go forward we move to holding the shoots on a Saturday evening when it is easier to stay out later..!  Around December and January we also try to plan to visit those locations further afield as sunrise is later at this time of year.

‍‍‍‍‍‍Please remember, The Landscape Group can only be as good as the input made by its members so if you are willing to organise or lead any kind of event that you think will be of interest to members, please step forward. Please don’t be shy – all offers of help will be greatly appreciated…!

Please note:
Don’t forget to check the arrangements before setting out if there has been extreme weather overnight.

About the NDPS Landscape Group

The Landscape Group’s objectives are simple – to encourage members who wish to take part improve their landscape photography, enhance their understanding of the equipment and techniques available. Learn through collaboration with fellow members and have fun.
Landscape is one of the oldest art forms with many famous landscape painters such as John Constable, Jacob van Ruisdael and J M W Turner. Since the invention of the camera landscape photography has become one of the most prolific forms of photography, reaching critical acclaim in the hands of photographers like Ansel Adams and Joe Cornish to name but two.
Latterly techniques such as intentional camera movement (ICM) and multiple exposures have enabled photographers to come closer to the ephemeral images painted by Turner in his later period and the use of perspective control or tilt/shift lenses has allowed digital photographers to emulate the depth of focus and perspective control long achieved using traditional large format cameras. The use and understanding of filtration is another area in landscape photography that has advanced considerably in the last twenty years and nowadays it is unusual not to find a set of neutral density and graduated filters taking up valuable space in the landscape photographer’s bag.
Since it began in 2016 the landscape group has developed range of activities support members of the Society in developing their skills in creating landscape imagery, whether this is with a traditional or more contemporary approach.

Please remember, our group can only be as good as the input made by its members so if you are willing to organise or lead any kind of event that you think will be of interest to members, please step forward. Please don’t be shy – all offers of help will be greatly appreciated…!

Earlier Event: September 15
Activity/Practical/Technique