Guardian's mountain photos of the year

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 moac 10 Jan 2023
Thread moved from The Pub to Photography
 DaveHK 10 Jan 2023
In reply to moac:

I wonder what they mean by 'Cliff Hand' in the 5th one down? 

 Robert Durran 10 Jan 2023
In reply to moac:

> Some great photos here.

Some hideous ones too. 

Milky way in a pale blue sky "perfectly exposed"?!

And what's with all the tents?

Post edited at 08:00
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 plyometrics 10 Jan 2023
In reply to Robert Durran:

In particular the Fairfield Horseshoe sunrise, which really is quite crap. 

7
 Robert Durran 10 Jan 2023
In reply to plyometrics:

> In particular the Fairfield Horseshoe sunrise, which really is quite crap. 

To be fair, at least it is just average in an inoffensive, honest sort of way. A solid UKC 4 stars.

Post edited at 08:23
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 deepsoup 10 Jan 2023
In reply to DaveHK:

> I wonder what they mean by 'Cliff Hand' in the 5th one down?

The photo is for sale here.  https://www.cliffhandsphotography.com/

I guess it's a pseudonym for the photographer, or perhaps Cliff Hand(s) and David Hutchings are business partners or something like that.

I love his pics of Bow Fiddle Rock and St Monan's Pier.


1
 DaveHK 10 Jan 2023
In reply to deepsoup:

Bit of an odd caption then.

 ianstevens 10 Jan 2023
In reply to moac:

Some real stinkers, clearly taken on phones and basically unedited (purple blues anyone? overexposed sunsets?). TBF the sub-heading does say they're from trail magazine... so I suspect a lot of non-photographer submissions. 

5
 steveriley 10 Jan 2023
In reply to moac:

Tough crowd, we're all agreed that mountains are great though yes?

 Robert Durran 10 Jan 2023
In reply to ianstevens:

> Some real stinkers, clearly taken on phones and basically unedited (purple blues anyone? overexposed sunsets?).

Or just overedited (The Cliff Hands stands out).

> TBF the sub-heading does say they're from trail magazine... 

Might explain all the tents!

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 deepsoup 10 Jan 2023
In reply to DaveHK:

> Bit of an odd caption then.

Seems that way, though I could be wrong.  Maybe it's a local name for the place and the photographer has pinched it for a pseudonym the way you might choose a user name on here.

The Guardian do one or two of these photo items every day*, maybe they don't put all that much care into the captions.  Or maybe they're just copy/pasted from a Trail Magazine press release or something.

*eg:  Here's something completely different.  Maybe the people hating the mountain photos would prefer some balloon animals instead.  (Bottom Clinger might be a bit jealous, there's a cracking photo of a rare inflatable kingfisher.)
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2023/jan/07/balloon-animal...

 DaveHK 10 Jan 2023
In reply to deepsoup:

> Maybe it's a local name for the place

I'm pretty sure it's not that, just shoddy captioning. 

 ScraggyGoat 10 Jan 2023
In reply to Robert Durran:

Haven’t you noticed photographing expensive tents is the new cool to demonstrate your outdoor cred.

The photos are likely to be accompanied by turgid YouTube clips cataloguing how they walked up a single hill and pitched, and that they are ‘outdoor gods’ pushing the envelope. Indeed some even mention new personal bests in terms of camping high.

some spots like Sgurr Nan Stri now appear to have classic wild camp photo status as the sheep ‘tick’ locations.

I hope your suitably awe-struck.

The first torch illuminated glowing tent, with stars and hills had novelty. Now they are two a penny.

1
 Flinticus 11 Jan 2023
In reply to ScraggyGoat:

> The first torch illuminated glowing tent, with stars and hills had novelty. Now they are two a penny.

The "yoga on a beach at sunrise" of wild camping.

 Ramblin dave 11 Jan 2023
In reply to ScraggyGoat:

> Haven’t you noticed photographing expensive tents is the new cool to demonstrate your outdoor cred.

I thought moaning about photo competitions on UKC was the new cool way to demonstrate your outdoor cred. Shows how little I know, eh?

 Max factor 11 Jan 2023
In reply to steveriley:

Yes!

The runner up photo manages to make Striding edge look epic in scale. I think I need father Ted and a couple of plastic cows to explain it to me.  

 Ramblin dave 11 Jan 2023
In reply to deepsoup:

> The photo is for sale here.  https://www.cliffhandsphotography.com/

> I guess it's a pseudonym for the photographer, or perhaps Cliff Hand(s) and David Hutchings are business partners or something like that.

> I love his pics of Bow Fiddle Rock and St Monan's Pier.

Interesting - if I was looking for a photo for the cover of an epic dark fantasy novel they'd be right up there (as would his Coigeach and Assynt photo from the competition), but they don't really do it for me as photos that I might hang on my wall, because the mood that they're creating doesn't really jive with how I actually feel when I'm looking at a mountain or coastal landscape, even in fairly threatening weather. In contrast, the winning photo and the "Milky Way from Snowdon" one do, for me, capture some of the feeling of being out in the hills at night, despite not being visually realistic. I like the last one, Sunset at the Fiddler, too.

 Ramblin dave 11 Jan 2023
In reply to Max factor:

> Yes!

> The runner up photo manages to make Striding edge look epic in scale. I think I need father Ted and a couple of plastic cows to explain it to me.  

Is it just me, or does the cropped version in the article header actually work better than the original? It feels like all the dark, busy-looking stuff in the bottom half of the image distracts from the contrast between the tiny, figures silhouetted on the dark ridge and the massive icy crags behind them which is kind-of the interesting bit of the picture.

 PaulJepson 11 Jan 2023
In reply to Robert Durran:

I quite like the ones with tents in. It juxtaposes the comfort, warmth and light of the tent to the inhospitable, cold darkness of the mountains. 

 Robert Durran 11 Jan 2023
In reply to PaulJepson:

> I quite like the ones with tents in. It juxtaposes the comfort, warmth and light of the tent to the inhospitable, cold darkness of the mountains. 

I've nothing against them, but they have become a bit of a cliche and 5 out of 14 photos here does seem excessive.

Post edited at 15:02
1
In reply to deepsoup:

That St Monan's picture is excellent.

 Robert Durran 11 Jan 2023
In reply to Ramblin dave:

> Interesting - if I was looking for a photo for the cover of an epic dark fantasy novel they'd be right up there (as would his Coigeach and Assynt photo from the competition), but they don't really do it for me as photos that I might hang on my wall, because the mood that they're creating doesn't really jive with how I actually feel when I'm looking at a mountain or coastal landscape, even in fairly threatening weather.

I agree entirely. Fantasy rather than realism. These absurdly overdarkened skies do seem very fashionable at the moment. The Coigach photo is, to me, about as awful as that Tryfan one, though done with a bit more skill I think. There seems to be a fad for people photographing "overphotographed" views, but, rather than waiting for some special light, resorting to manipulation to make their shot stand out from the crowd.

> In contrast, the winning photo and the "Milky Way from Snowdon" one do, for me, capture some of the feeling of being out in the hills at night, despite not being visually realistic.

Interesting. The milky way one, like all "bright as day"  night photos leaves me completely cold. Getting a photo which conjures up a dark night or even authentic moonlight while letting you actually see anything is, I think, a finely balanced skill. I think the winning one gets it spot on and is a great photo.

> I like the last one, Sunset at the Fiddler, too.

A bit overexposed/oversaturated? Doesn't really work for me. Tricky shot in to the sun though.

Post edited at 14:51
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 ScraggyGoat 11 Jan 2023
In reply to Ramblin dave:

That will be two of us without credibility then.

Yours happy in mediocrity.

 deepsoup 11 Jan 2023
In reply to Ramblin dave:

> Interesting - if I was looking for a photo for the cover of an epic dark fantasy novel they'd be right up there (as would his Coigeach and Assynt photo from the competition), but they don't really do it for me as photos that I might hang on my wall

I agree completely, much as I love them I'm not sure I'd want a big framed print of either of those on my wall either.  But I'd be more than happy to have either as my computer screen 'desktop'.  (I hope that isn't too much like damning them with faint praise.)

Funnily enough the Milky Way photo strikes me as very much a fantasy book cover too, albeit more the kind of fantasy novel that has unicorns in!  (And again, I realise it sounds like I'm taking the piss, but I'm really not.)

Looking again at the pics on that Cliff Hands website, the photo of his that most captures how I felt in a particular place is the Bamburgh Castle at sunrise one.  As it happens I was almost on the very spot where he took that photo early one morning last summer, faffing about getting ready to paddle out around the Farne Islands, and while it certainly wasn't looking anything like as spectacular as that photo it very much captures the sense I felt there of being in a magical place.

 NathanP 11 Jan 2023
In reply to Ramblin dave:

> Interesting - if I was looking for a photo for the cover of an epic dark fantasy novel they'd be right up there (as would his Coigeach and Assynt photo from the competition), but they don't really do it for me as photos that I might hang on my wall, because the mood that they're creating doesn't really jive with how I actually feel when I'm looking at a mountain or coastal landscape, even in fairly threatening weather..

There does seem to be a thing in landscape photography for making much loved UK mountains look like a gloomy day in Mordor - there was that picture of Tryfan a few weeks ago that had a similar vibe. Striking but it doesn't really appeal to me either and I certainly wouldn't want them on the wall for fear of nightmares.

Post edited at 17:46
 magma 11 Jan 2023
In reply to moac:

thanks. this spectacular view of Everest turned up on my windows login, but what does Mr Durran think?

https://stock.adobe.com/ca/images/view-of-the-himalayas-during-a-foggy-suns...

 Robert Durran 11 Jan 2023
In reply to magma:

> thanks. this spectacular view of Everest turned up on my windows login, but what does Mr Durran think?

I'm far from convinced that is a real mountain, let alone Everest! Looking at more of the photos, I suspect they might be some of that AI generated stuff. Might as well be paintings.

1
 magma 11 Jan 2023
In reply to Robert Durran:

too good to be true;( i'd still have it on my wall tho..

In reply to Robert Durran:

I'm sure it's a fake, or distorted with very exaggerated vertical elevation. With a brief search of 'Everest from the north' I can't find anything like that. This is the nearest I've found:

https://www.explore7summits.com/a-new-route-without-oxygen-on-everests-nort...

 65 11 Jan 2023
In reply to ScraggyGoat:

> The first torch illuminated glowing tent, with stars and hills had novelty. Now they are two a penny.

I partly agree, but you could also say the same about cloud inversions, views of the Cuillin from Elgol and just about any landscape photo you care to think of. I do remember an artist friend advising me on landscape photography 3+ decades ago saying, "NO sunsets."

If you want to see good landscape photos, The Guardian, FB, Insta etc are not the places to look.

Edit. I just had a look at the gallery, I take it all back.  Jesus wept, it appears if you want likes and oohs and aahs you need to have a lit tent in your pic. I do actually have an image planned for suitable weather and in my head there's a version which I thought I'd include my tent. Not any more, it suddenly feels very hackneyed. Not to say that some images of this ilk aren't great, there are a few on UKC I can think of which merit 5* and I quite like the Daniel Hadley pic.

Otherwise I'm not mad about any of them. I quite like the two of the Buachaille and the goat, and I don't think the goat is very sharp. The wide angle one from the Fhidleir just about gets a nod I suppose, the light is nice. 

Edit again: even the Fhidleir one has a bloody tent in it.

Post edited at 20:48
 Darkinbad 11 Jan 2023
In reply to magma:

> thanks. this spectacular view of Everest turned up on my windows login, but what does Mr Durran think?

That title reads very much as an AI prompt.

In reply to Darkinbad:

That style of captioning is also pretty typical for microstock photo websites though so that’s not particularly conclusive.

 Dark-Cloud 12 Jan 2023
In reply to Stuart Williams:

Totally AI,  to be confirmed by looking at the contributors full gallery

https://stock.adobe.com/ca/contributor/211096968/josh?load_type=author&...


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