Four Ways to Photograph Your Way through August

August is an interesting month, maybe one that doesn't leave many outdoor photographers jumping up in anticipation. As Summer holiday season reaches it's zenith, you might be tempted to hide away indoors and wait for things to quieten down.

However, there's always something to get inspired about and August offers plenty of opportunities to get out exploring with your camera. Here's four themes to help anyone looking for new ideas in the month ahead... 

Find Your Purple Patch

1/250 f9 ISO 1250

With the UK hosting more heather moorland than anywhere else in the world, you could be forgiven for taking them for granted. But these ancient, managed landscapes are internationally rarer than many people realise.  And for just a few weeks in the year, the blinding purples and heady scents of the heather amaze all of the senses.

As the floral spectacular reaches its peak, August is one of best times to head out to your local moors.

Whether you close in on the details and wildlife interacting with the heather or go for a more classical landscape arrangement, the light falling on the pinks, magentas and purples will greatly impact the feel of the photo you get. So many approaches and variations to explore and so little time!

Simplicity often helps the impact of heather moorland shots and it can be all too easy to get carried away by the emotiveness of the scenery. Trying to keep a cool, and analytical approach can be a hard yet rewarding approach. Seeking out a rogue conifer or silver birch can add a simple but powerful feature.

Further inspiration: Albert Dros: Purple Dutch

Hidden Beasts

1/250 f4 ISO 2000

While moorlands can also be rewarding habitats to seek out our native amphibians and reptiles, you can be just as lucky exploring your own backyard. The warm summer weather can drawer out sun-soaking snakes and lizards (especially earlier in the day), while English Summer rain will often tempt our amphibian friends out from their daytime hideaways. 

Lizards on boardwalks, froglets in ponds and even slowworms in the compost heap. Once you delve into their secretive worlds you’ll be absorbed and happily lost in alternate universe for hours.

Whatever you go in search for, the chances are you’ll be getting pretty close, either via a telephoto or macro lens. The result likely produce shallow depths of field and it will be hard to keep the entirety of your subject in focus. You could exploit this inevitability by focusing on the eye, allowing the shallow area of focus to add simplicity and drama. Alternatively, you could try using a wider perspective and use the subject within a larger landscape or even try focus stacking techniques.

Further inspiration: Nature TTL 

Sports Addict

1/15 f5.6 ISO 100

I’ve been totally hooked on the Paris Olympics and have been fascinated not just by the incredible performances, backstories, and general hullabaloo but also the photojournalists, camera operators and equipment being used. 

I’ve always thought photographing sports is a great way to test and improve photography skills. 

Chances are, if you’re not already involved in a sport in some way, someone you know will be. From Sunday football leagues to emerging sports like paddle boarding; sports clubs and organisations are always really keen to get great photos celebrating their activity. These offer a great opportunity to learn, make mistakes, and improve.

The key thing to concentrate on with sports activities is autofocus and shutter speed selection. If you’re starting out you’ll probably want to begin with a shutter priority and a 1/2000, with all your auto-focus points active. 

As you get more confident you might want to switch to manual (keep ISO set to auto) and experiment with depth of field and use a smaller group of focus point selections to target more specific subjects.

With newer mirrorless cameras you can even set the AF mode to match the sport you’re photographing! :o 

Further inspiration: Tom Jenkins

City Park Living

1/1000 f14 ISO 1000

From my earliest adventures in photography urban parks have always been an inspiring place to experiment and develop my photography skills. 

It can be a great environment to hone your street photography skills, looking how different people interact with the space, dog walks, people at play or just laying about enjpying the sunshine.

The arrangement or designs of parks can also offer more opportunities to explore a more architectural approach, maybe practicing minimalist techniques with compositional arrangements.

The wildlife in parks can be more used to human presence which can make them great subjects to photograph from new and interesting angles. 

With park projects the more you revisit the spaces the more likely you will be able to get something special. The more time you spend in the space the deeper connection you create with the environment and everything in it, making better photo opportunities more likely!

Further inspiration: Sophia Spring: Parklife