Whitby Folk - Article on Photographing Whitby. Pg 2.

Whitby is famous for?

Whitby (St Hilda's) Abbey, Dracula, Bram Stoker, Captain Cook, Whitby Goths, Whitby Regatta, Whitby Whaling, Fishing, St Mary's Church, Whitby Jet, Whitby Witches, Whitby Town, The Whitby Seagull, 199 Steps, Harbour, Whitby Piers, Shipping Trades, Alum Production, B&Bs, The East Cliff, Captain William Scoresby, Fisherman's Cottages, Whitby's Yards, Steps and cobbled streets, Fish and Chips, The Endeavour, Ghost Walks, Sea Food, Seaside, The West Cliff, Whitby Folk Festival, Caedmon, Frank Sutcliffe, Whitby Kippers, Lobster, Crabs and Scampi, Synod of A.D. 664, Australian 'First Fleet' supply vessels,

Do you know any other things Whitby is famous for? Let us know and we'll add it to the list, see here!

Discover Whitby's street names and their history here

Break the ice, Jury, Binge drinking, Incredible Hulk, Down the hatch, ...discover these and many more well known phrases from our maritime past here

Find out about the building styles and architecture found in the buildings of Whitby here.

Whitby in times gone by, ads from the past here

Old Whitby Ad

PERSPECTIVE LINES. Photographs are flat, so find lines that give a mental impression of depth.

photographing whitby west pier lines

Perspective lines are very apparent above, but more subtly suggested by the benches below. Tip: wide angle exaggerates this effect.

photographing whitby bench

How many images do you want? As many as you like, but how many will you view again? True, no one wants to miss a chance, especially if you’re only there for the day, but you do have a day. Try eyes first, camera second. There’s usually time to return to a scene, but if you’re happy to shoot images you’ll not want to see again, forget the question. A possible case in point... On a Yellow Boats evening excursion to Staithes a man stood in the bow and blazed away though a telephoto zoom lens at coast near and far, a buoy, airborne gulls, distant vessels and so on. This while standing on a rolling, dipping platform in failing light, a combination very likely to produce image blur through camera motion and slow shutter speed. Perhaps camera limitations were being explored, but it looked more like lack of basic photo-optical knowledge (see Understanding Your Camera. At Staithes I sought with feet and eyes before a few exposures. Here’s the only survivor.

whitby evening light

Camera limitations, yes they have them, and particularly flash, which is usually good for up to fifteen feet away, but don’t expect more. One night in Robin Hood’s Bay I stood on Way Foot enjoying fresh air and sloshing high tide. To my left the Bay Hotel, from which came a flash. On turning I saw arms withdraw a camera indoors through an upper window. Presumably its wielder wondered if the flash would light the whole dark bay out to Ravenscar over two miles away. Why else stick the camera out at night and squeeze the shutter button?

Summarily, develop awareness: eyes first, camera second. See, don’t just look. If in doubt use the Rule of Thirds. Find and use Perspective Lines. Rotate the camera for best framing. Appreciate your camera’s limits. Be critical of results. Learn any lessons. Whitby bursts with good photos and you can probably return with a vow to do better.

PART 2 - USING YOUR CAMERA

Kindly written for The Whitby Seagull by
COLIN BRIGGS
Ingham
Lincolnshire. 20 July 2010

Whitby is famous for?

Whitby Folk - Photographing Whitby Pt 1