A Magical Morning

Sunday morning, my husband has been away for two weeks at this point with work, and there is another week to go. The kids are fed and are watching TV, I open the curtains and see that the sun is actually shining for what seems like the first time in a week and it looks magical outside! Quick quick, everyone get dressed! Let’s go and take some photos!!

blogpost1images-1We all jumped in the car, dog included and were in the park which is only a few minutes from home by 8am. The light was amazing that morning, a little mist lingering in the air, the sun just rising above the trees, and sending those astonishing beams of light through the falling leaves. One of those rare moments when the light is a tangible element, you could almost reach out and touch it.

blogpost1images-5The boys were having so much fun, kicking and throwing leaves, dragging huge branches around, throwing sticks for the dog. We were out for almost an hour, and as the sun rose higher, it was actually really warm in the Autumn sunshine.

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blogpost1images-4It’s days like this that make me thankful for photography. We turned the TV off, we ran around, and laughed and played in the sunshine. Happy days. Then home for a big, well deserved second breakfast.

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The technical bit – I shot these images with my Nikon D610 in manual mode, with Nikon 70-200mm 2.8 and Sigma 35mm 1.4 ART lenses. I find my 70-200 struggles a little to focus when shooting into the light, but I am addicted to the compression it gives especially at the longer focal lengths, and the separation of the subject from the background is amazing, so it’s worth grappling with a little! I actually manually focused it for the shots of the leaves and cobwebs. My ISO remained on 160 throughout. I edited in Lightroom without using any presets, but I altered the saturation and tones of the greens a little to enhance the Autumnal tones, and I used the adjustment brush to increase the clarity a little over those gorgeous rays of light.

What would have been your favourite lens to use on this occasion? How do you like to edit? I’d love to hear from you! Hannah x

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30 Comments

  • Reply Janan December 23, 2015 at 11:04 pm

    I have no idea about lens type or editing. I leave that kinda thing to the clever folk but wow. Just wow. What amazing images you’ve ended up with there. And a fabulous wholesome morning spent too. Well done Mrs. X

    • Reply Hannah Argyle December 24, 2015 at 10:27 am

      Thanks so much Janan, definitely some of my favourites from the year xx

  • Reply Chirag December 24, 2015 at 12:29 pm

    Congratulations on the website Hannah! x x A great job indeed!
    I had seen few of these images on your fb page and loved them instantly! Those rays of light are just perfect! I agree the compression ratio with telephoto lenses is the best! I’d like to ask about what shutter spped you captured them at?

    • Reply Hannah Argyle December 24, 2015 at 2:51 pm

      Thank you so much Chirag I’m really glad you like these pictures 🙂 So I checked back for you and the first ones I took were the walking down the path ones and the shutter speed was 1/200. It slowly went up as the sun rose higher (as I shoot in manual I tend to alter the shutter speed to correct exposure, unless I really need to change the depth of field or the ISO) and by the time I was shooting straight into the sun where my little boy is throwing and kicking the leaves my shutter speed was 1/800-1/1200. The f stop stayed at 3.5 throughout, because I was a long way away and using a telephoto lens I know I can get both boys in focus at this stop. I hope that makes sense! xx

  • Reply Caroline January 2, 2016 at 10:14 pm

    Wow, these are just beautiful Hannah! xx

    • Reply Hannah Argyle January 3, 2016 at 8:18 am

      Thank you so much Caroline! xx

  • Reply Susan (@_susandrea_) January 5, 2016 at 12:56 pm

    Wow you did great! Love them all. I’m thinking my knowledge about the technical stuff in photography is quite poor… I tend to take photos by instinct (although I use manual mod) and need to change that. You’ve left me thinking about wich lens would I use to photograph something like this 😉

    • Reply Hannah Argyle January 5, 2016 at 1:18 pm

      Thanks so much Susan! I think taking photos by instinct is often the best way, and your instincts are fabulous! I hate to miss a shot so I try to keep an eye on shutter speed (motion blur is a pet hate) and aperture (nothing worse that one figure in focus and one not), and I’m getting there, hopefully it’ll become second nature the more I shoot! x

  • Reply Bex Jenkins January 5, 2016 at 1:24 pm

    Such beautiful images, Hannah. Thanks for sharing your knowledge too. I only have one lens – a Canon 50mm which is great but not perfect for all situations. I hope to get a 35mm this year. I will try the adjustment tool on Lightroom. I’m just learning how to use it but I love the effects I can get. I’m often a bit heavy handed at present, but hope that will improve.

    • Reply Hannah Argyle January 5, 2016 at 1:29 pm

      Hi Bex, thank you so much lovely. 50mm is such a great lens isn’t it? It’s all I used for over a year. You’ll love 35mm though, it’s a good investment. The Sigma one is super sharp. Lightroom is fun to play around in isn’t it? I do get frustrated at times though that I can’t do everything there yet! Such a steep learning curve! x

  • Reply Monsy Arias Dymond January 5, 2016 at 1:38 pm

    Just beautiful…..!! I don’t use a camara, only iPhone, your photography, may me wonder if I should buy a camara, and start learning!! I am glad I stopped by this morning.xx

    • Reply Hannah Argyle January 5, 2016 at 1:42 pm

      Thank you Monsy that’s so kind of you to say. You can take such great pictures with an iPhone these days, but DSLRs are a lot of fun too! You can get great second hand ones that don’t break the bank. Thank you so much for stopping by and good luck xx

  • Reply Becca January 5, 2016 at 3:58 pm

    Hi Hannah, I follow you on IG. Your photography is always so stunning! I love this series of Autumn shots and thank you for the technical tips too! I shoot with the same Nikon. My favorite lens is probably my Nikon 105mm macro but I often use my 50mm 1.4 and the 24-70. Still hoping to add that 70-200 to my bag someday although I often talk myself out of spending the money since my technical side of photography is not so great. I’m still just shooting from my heart and I get lucky occasionally. 😊 I always love the shots of your boys in the wheat field…looks amazing with their sweet blonde hair! Take care, and thanks for the inspiration!

    • Reply Hannah Argyle January 5, 2016 at 4:06 pm

      Hi Becca, thank you so much, that’s so kind of you! Ooh what a lot of lovely lenses you own! The 24-70 is firmly on my wish list, but these zooms are so much money aren’t they?! I found my 70-200 second hand, its the older version without the in built stabilisation but it’s still amazing and so much fun to use, although it gives your arms a good work out! I’m sure that you are more than lucky, I’m coming to visit you on Instagram in a minute! Thank you, the wheat field shot is my absolute favourite, long live warm Summer days and happy children! Take care and thanks so much again xx

  • Reply Rachael Smith January 5, 2016 at 4:27 pm

    So great to read what lenses you used. I always use my 50mm 1.8 at the moment but am saving for a 35mm. I was just going to get the cheaper 1.8, would you say it’s worth saving up more for the 1.4 art? Heard a few people say they love it. Interesting you love the 70-200 too, I’ll have to take a look. What aperture did you use for these? And did you use single spot focus or different? I’m currently playing around with focus settings and can’t figure out what I prefer.

    • Reply Hannah Argyle January 5, 2016 at 8:33 pm

      Hello lovely! Thanks so much for reading! I think it depends on whether you have a cropped sensor or full sensor camera, I may be wrong on this but I think there’s little point getting 1.4 (designed for full frame) if you have a cropped sensor. Perhaps check that out though rather than take my word for it!
      My aperture was 3.5, and I always use a single focus point and spot metering. I like to have complete control and I find if the camera is throwing out multiple focus points it’s easy to get a nose rather than an eye in focus 😉 also with metering, I prefer spot metering so I am telling the camera exactly which point to expose from and it’s isn’t trying to compensate for back lighting etc. I hope that helps! Xx

  • Reply Johanna Häusler January 5, 2016 at 4:58 pm

    Thanks a million for sharing this heartwarming story. Finding balance between real life and social media / TV.. Is a Gift. I Need to learn more about my Camera and lenses! Love, Johanna

    • Reply Hannah Argyle January 5, 2016 at 8:27 pm

      Thank you lovely Johanna, I totally agree, it’s more important than ever isn’t it to find some time to unplug and get out doors! Thanks for reading xx

  • Reply Julia January 5, 2016 at 8:36 pm

    Such beautiful light and gorgeous captures, love to read the technical info too! Do you use manual focus often?

    • Reply Hannah Argyle January 5, 2016 at 8:42 pm

      Thank you so much Julia! No not often, only if auto focus is struggling, if I’m shooting into the light sometimes it’ll struggle to find exactly what I want, or if I’m shooting something like grass or cobwebs and I can see exactly what I want but the camera can’t, then I’ll switch into autofocus xx

  • Reply Jane Graystone January 5, 2016 at 9:29 pm

    Amazing and beautiful images Hannah. I am in awe of your talent. I have no idea these days on lenses. With three busy little kids and trying to run a business my iPhone is the easiest for me. You’re very inspiring though and make me want to throw myself back into it.
    Maybe one day…..
    Thank you for sharing and inspiring all of us. I love how supportive our Instagram Community is. You contribute so much x

    • Reply Hannah Argyle January 6, 2016 at 9:08 am

      Thanks so much Jane! Isn’t the iPhone great too though? We would miss so much without it in our pockets all the time and I almost always use it for still life and flatlays..
      Thanks for your kind words! xx

  • Reply Jules January 9, 2016 at 8:24 am

    Such a beautiful post – great that you shared the tech side too! And what a stunning set of photos xx

    • Reply Hannah Argyle January 10, 2016 at 9:38 am

      Aw thanks so much Jules! I’m really glad you like them. Now if only we got a bit more weather like this…! 🙂 xx

  • Reply Zoë January 20, 2016 at 5:59 pm

    I adore these shots – you’ve captured that magical light so beautifully. Interesting to read about your lenses – my favourite autumn lens of choice is my 100mm macro – but that’s because I love to capture the leaves. I could really do with 2 camera bodies so I don’t have to keep switching lenses 😉

    • Reply Hannah Argyle January 21, 2016 at 12:53 pm

      Haha yes me too!! I’m aiming for a second body (I already have the camera strap that’ll take two!) as it will be great on photoshoots and especially weddings. I love my macro too, although I tend not to use it so much outdoors, mainly for babies, but I should experiment more with it! I adore your leaf shots they are incredible xx

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  • Reply Lisette Gibbons April 12, 2016 at 3:22 pm

    Amazing pictures Hannah. Just discovered your blog and Instagram through Wex. Glad I did!

    • Reply Hannah Argyle April 14, 2016 at 2:47 pm

      Thank you Lisette! So kind of you to say! x

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