We’d been speaking about doing this for quite a while, and so a few weeks back finally managed to put a date in the diary and before we knew it, we were heading off on a Road-Trip with a difference armed only with our iPhones for taking photographs.
The first of our locations was Devils Bridge Falls; a famous location in Mid Wales attracting tourists year round, so armed with our minimal kit (although I was carrying more kit for filming) we made our way down the seemingly endless steep steps into the depths.
We followed the route around the base and back up the other side, stopping occasionally to take some photographs and grab some video content with my 360 camera.
Here’s one of the shots I captured using ReeXpose set to capture a 10 second exposure.
I kept saying it all weekend, but wow, we were so incredibly fortunate with the weather being as good as it was and with there being some incredible clouds too.
We walked across the bridge and made our way down to ground level below the bridge and found a very well positioned grassed area for taking photographs.
It really drove home to me how different the experience of traditional landscape / seascape photography with a DSLR or Mirrorless camera is compared to that of using my iPhone; not having to carry or be concerned about filters and which heavy and bulky lenses to bring along … and maybe not even use.
It’s obviously my own experience I’m talking about here, but in the past I found that having all that additional kit gave too many choices and on so many occasions made me miss the moment, and more importantly stopped me from enjoying the location and the purpose of being there. Of course I could have left some lenses back at home but we’ve all been there needing a lens we decided not to bring.
Both Brian and I were using the ReeXpose and ReeHeld long exposure apps on our iPhones, which definitely contributed to the whole experience being so relaxing not having to carry or think about so much additional kit … just incase.
It might sound odd to say this, but it really felt like making art with all the focus (no pun intended) on composition and the creative decision on how long of a long exposure to create.
Having captured all we wanted, it was then back to the hotel for a quick freshen up, a delicious dinner (Brian had Fillet Steak and I had Surf n’ Turf which set off the hotel fire alarm) and then the short drive over Britannia Bridge and onto Anglesey.
I’d been wanting to go here for a few years to photograph the Twr Mawr Lighthouse; a location that has been photographed thousands upon thousands of times … but not by us and certainly not by us with our iPhones.
The walk across the beach to the lighthouse takes about 40 minutes and would be great to do at a steady pace, but we definitely had our marching boots on so we could be sure to get near the lighthouse before sunset which was just over an hour away.
The lighthouse and where its situated is as stunning as I was led to believe. WOW! So incredibly peaceful with only the sound of the sea and the many varied sea birds in the area.
Glyn Dewis
