This was one of my earliest photo trips with the Nikon D3500 and 18–140mm lens. I had a free day and decided to head to Brean Fort with my camera.
Still being relatively new to photography and no real clue what I was doing, I took a walk to Brean Fort it was a cloudy day so not ideal for photography but still worth a go as you don’t know what you will see.
Here’s a typical view looking north. In my opinion, it’s not a great photo. This was before I had any editing software, and I still refuse to change skies or add effects the camera can’t do. What you see is what I shot.
Looking back, this walk taught me two key lessons about photography:
Where to stand and where to point. Let’s start with where to point.
Here are two photos of the same derelict hut. I prefer the one on the right—only just—as neither are great. The left one isn’t even straight. These were taken before I knew anything about the rule of thirds, so I won’t dive into that yet. Still, the hut sits close to the one-third line in both, and the right-hand photo includes an island in the background, adding some extra interest.
Now let’s talk about where to stand. These shots were taken from nearly the same spot, but one is slightly lower than the other. That lower angle gives a different point of view. The right-hand image also uses leading lines, drawing the eye towards the island in the distance. If the weather had been nicer—and if I’d been feeling bold—my belly might have hit the ground for a better shot.
In the end, this trip was a bit of a bust in terms of great photos. But I still came away with valuable lessons. Even the not-so-great days can teach you something useful.
