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Martin Dolan Photography

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Martin Dolan Photography

Martin is an Amateur landscape photographer based on the Dorset/Hampshire border. Martin is currently using the KASE Filter products.

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Martin has a passion for good light and capturing his favourite places bathed in it. He can often be found along The Jurassic Coast, The New Forest and anywhere in between with his camera. Martin is currently using a Sony A7R 3 camera with a combination of Canon and Sigma lenses and is a big fan of the use of filters.

09/06/2021

Big Girl
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After a suggestion from good friend Tim Monaghan Photography to help with my current lull in inspiration I set out to photograph butterflies for the first time yesterday evening.
Let’s forget about picture quality for a moment, the experience and challenge was so refreshing and exactly what the doctor ordered.

The sights, sounds and smell of summer were in full effect, the wind almost made the evening impossible but it was a huge learning curve that I thoroughly enjoyed.
I found myself shooting at 400mm, often in crop mode (560mm), ISO 800 and stupid shutter speeds like 1/3200 as the light was so strong.

This female common blue opened her wings for a few fleeting moments, composition is not up to scratch but what a beautiful specimen eh!!

Huge shout out to Jack Lodge Photography who felt he was way off the mark but in truth NAILED his shots with class!
Never in doubt Jack 😉

I’m so excited to have another go…

08/06/2021

County Lines

Tuesday, a week ago. Has it been that long already?
The days are racing by right now and it’s becoming more summer-like out there every week.
It won’t be that long before the greens are beginning to wither, the leaves look dry and tired and coastal light here in Dorset is a distant memory.

Seeing in June with a wonderful show of light was a nice reminder that the countryside can be a place of splendour during the weeks and months to come!

07/06/2021

Broken

My favourite type of conditions to be out shooting on the Jurassic Coast.
Taken back to the RAW and worked up from the ground, an image that, for me, embodies the essence of luck.
It’s been said you make your own luck in this game and I think that’s true, the forecast on this evening was awful and the weather was worse but setting out with a shot in mind regardless only to be rewarded with an explosion of light right at the last minute is what drives the next shoot, the next idea.

Kimmeridge is a diverse location for landscape photography, the options for creativity are endless. The bay and its surrounding ledges boast some of the best geology Dorset’s coastline has to offer.
There are classic views like this of Clavell’s Pier right through to macro photography of varying patterns and textures in the rock bed, it’s really a place you can’t get bored of!

A return trip is long overdue....

06/06/2021

Haunted

This image is not recent although I did stop off at Knowlton Church on my way home yesterday as there were some faint (at least what looked like) noctilucent clouds in the twilight sky, always worth trying to capture.
They faded quite quickly but the henge was quite full of mist with it ebbing and flowing around the church ruins.

Without wanting to come across too ‘heavy’, I’ve been struggling with a sense of identity in my photography for some time and am craving a change in direction.
I’m not talking about slapping a mono effect on everything like some sort’ve quick fix.
Having an idea, going out and capturing that and then spending as much energy and creativity in processing that image is where I’m heading.
I’ve always been drawn to dark, moody conditions and anything I’ve ever produced that’s had longevity and satisfies me to this day has been of that mould.
Trying to distinguish between what I think is good and what I actually want to try and achieve is taking a long time to work out, I’ve deleted so many accounts, pages and profiles over the years it’s silly, underneath all this is a yearning to find a small space in this world where I can feel comfortable with my own work and not spend my life chasing scenes that ultimately leave me wanting more for all the wrong reasons.

I need a creative outlet in my life, always have otherwise I implode on myself and those around me (see my pitiful attempts at playing guitar for an example), photography gives me that freedom of expression.
Trying to know what type, is where I’m at currently..

04/06/2021

Sail Away

Wednesday morning was full of promise and a trip to Old Harry Rocks felt like a worthy one to make.
Some wonderful pink clouds formed just before sunrise, as always they weren't quite in the perfect position, nor were they the right type (never happy!!), so a bit of hopping around to try and capture the changing cloud patterns took place.

Perhaps not the most picturesque or iconic side of Old Harry Rocks here but standing next to that enormous vertical drop never gets old.
As the sun rose a passing ship came into view and I think that addition alone makes this my favourite image from the haul that morning.
Have a great weekend guys 🤙

03/06/2021

Over The Border

Tuesday morning saw some lovely light fall over the Dorset/Wiltshire border to welcome in the month of June.
The long lens reigned supreme that morning, the interplay of light and shadows was wonderful to watch..

31/05/2021

Contours

Hello guys, what a bank holiday weekend it’s been eh!!

It’s rare I’ve had time off work as bank holidays tend to pass me by so I’ve been enjoying some quality time with my girls and making the most of this glorious sunshine!
With plans to pop out for sunrise tomorrow I had a look through a recent folder of images from an area I’ll be returning to in the morning and after a few weeks this image still really speaks to me, always a good sign, so here it is.

Just picking out details within the landscape whilst the light is good, really satisfying!

Wishing you all a good week ahead 🙏🏻

28/05/2021

As The Light Falls

I posted a similar image earlier this week but found it to have several technical issues I wasn't happy with so deleted it! I'm much more happier with this version, an outstanding morning in the Purbeck hills..

I was on a break at work Tuesday night and decided to check out the forecast for sunrise when I remembered it was a full moon due to set at 5am. Perfect I thought and quickly got to work planning a long lens shot, I got really excited about it working I thought of nothing else.

Everything was lined up but alas a huge bank of cloud on the horizon swallowed up the moon before it reached its final descent over the ocean.
I decided to turn my attention to sunrise and quickly made my way to a vantage point over looking the wonderful Purbeck countryside.

Sunrise initially was a decent affair but it was about 30 mins later that my jaw dropped..
Another lesson in telephoto landscape photography and lots of errors, but a steep learning curve. Dealing with quite a strong oncoming wind with little to no shelter was a challenge but fortunately my Sigma UK 100-400 delivered the goods along with the awesome support of my Benro Mach 3 tripod!

I might begin to fall in love with contrasty scenes such as this, to be safe I filled my boots and shot until my battery ran out...

27/05/2021

Cannonball

I was out again this morning armed with a newfound confidence that the conditions would be favourable for capturing the Flower Moon setting over a location I had planned to shoot, Clavell Tower at Kimmeridge.

I couldn’t quite believe it, the skies really were clear and what started off a touch and go trip out slowly turned into the most chilled and relaxed shoot I’ve had for a while.
Having done my homework yesterday only to be met with a cloud bank, today I improved upon my original vantage point and setup my camera and just waited and watched in awe as this great glowing orb of orange, sunlit rock descended from the sky above as dawn broke behind me.

A very cool and quite humbling thing to witness too...

25/05/2021

The Shining

I had plans to visit somewhere totally different to here this morning.
A few miles covered on foot before dawn broke, scouting out locations and getting very wet and muddy in the process!
The drive home took me through Corfe and I decided to check out the light and see what was occurring. The sky was entirely cloudless for the most part until just after sunrise when a bank of it rolled in.
Seeing an opportunity to grab a shot of the sunlight pouring through the windows of Corfe Castle was too good to pass up.

The light that flooded the surrounding hillside was so nice, with no mist it still felt really atmospheric.

I took several shots, constantly moving to catch the light through the window before it was out of alignment and I have a wonderful image taken in landscape orientation that I'm actually thinking of having printed for the wall at home.

Some mornings offer up the most random of gems!

24/05/2021

Fields Of Change

It’s hard to get a unique image from such a well known location these days and sometimes getting one comes at the expense of the subject matter itself.
It’s a fine line between interesting and being different for the sake of it I find.
The dutch barn at Sixpenny Handley is photogenic beyond words and with a long focal length the surrounding field it which it sits helps give the barn context and it’s the fields that, for me, are the star of the show.
Annual crop rotation offers the chance to shoot this location with varying results, the light interacts differently with each crop planted.

The light on Saturday evening was unimpeded by the cloud and the barley caught it wonderfully as it swayed back and forth in the evening breeze.

Something different but effective I hope, it’s what caught my eye anyway!

Thanks for having a look and a read!🙏🏻

23/05/2021

Windswept

I like to chance my luck with photography. I don’t get too stuck into forecasts and suchlike, it means missing out on some epic skies but not feeling too disheartened if things don’t materialise.
The wind throughout my whole shift at work on Thursday night was INSANE, I could feel the train being rocked from side to side!

There was one place I wanted to go after I finished, a return to the 3 boats of Durley Chine, safe in the knowledge the surrounding sands would be beautifully carved by the winds - my kind’ve imagery!

The boats themselves were sat directly under the promenade lighting, an annoyance at first but I now actually prefer the look compared to once the lights switched off an hour or so later.

A wonderful opportunity to update an older shot of mine that I’ve grown to be so proud of but this time with a different ambiance provided by the artificial lighting.

I’m still picking sand out of my eyeballs!

Thank you for looking 🙂

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