'The Glorious Twelfth' Photo

Photographer’s Note

If you looked at the WS of my previous post, you will know I promised to tell you about the shooting butts that can be found dotted around the North Yorkshire Moors National Park. As you can see I took this image on 12th August; a very important day in the calendar for the well-to-do, who like to indulge themselves in shooting grouse. The grouse shooting season is from 12th August until 10th December, and the beginning of the season is known as ‘The Glorious Twelfth’. (not so glorious for the grouse!) If you want to book for next year you will need to get to know the right people! :D

Although it is a National Park, the North Yorkshire Moors is all privately owned land. Grouse shooting is big business, and the moors are carefully managed to maintain the perfect habitat for the grouse. Gamekeepers organise the burning of patches of moorland in the off-season, as the grouse eat the tender shoots of new heather growth, while needing the older heather as cover for their nests. They will tell you the reason is not purely for the money made from shooting, but also for the preservation of the species. In other places where the heather is not maintained, grouse are dying out.

It costs upwards of £20,000 per day for a shooting party of 9 guns. Add to that the cost of the guns and all the accessories necessary, it is not a cheap hobby. It is also not an easy one. The ‘guns’ position themselves in the shooting butts, while ‘beaters’ flush out the grouse from as far as a mile away. The grouse can reach flying speeds of 80mph and don’t present very big targets.

I took this shot from the road in the early evening just before sunset. There is a row of about 5 shooting butts, that can all be seen further down the road. You can see two here. I did think about a shot to get them all in, but they are too far apart and just look like dots on the landscape.
No….. this is not tilted; there is very little flat land around here.

You can see the line of shooting butts on the map (link right), but you have to zoom right in. You will also have to zoom out to see any signs of civilisation as this is in open moorland. The nearest village is Egton Bridge

Alternative in the WS

ISO200 (I didn’t want the speed too slow as the wind was blowing the heather) FL36mm

subhendu_bagchi, mortijo, PixelTerror, kingurek, paura, hardyuno, bostankorkulugu, asajernigan, Wandering_Dan, Cricri, Gerrit, Graal, saxo042, shevchenko, bakes888, josepmarin, vasilpro, Kielia, buscape, carper, maxmitzu, chrisnet, Royaldevon, ChrisJ, Angshu has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

subhendu_bagchi (3540) 2009-09-06 2:10

Namaste Kath,
beautiful scenery. The rocky structure nicely contrasted here with the surrounding violet. Great depth and sharpness. Original tone. Very informative note also. Tfs. Have a great sunday.
Subhendu

mortijo (12416) 2009-09-06 2:27

Good shot Kath, executed in excellent light conditions and with perfect light management. I like the one in the workshop too, but you did well to choose this one. I read your note with great interest.
Greetings from a cold but sunny Luxemburg
John

cbrman (19051) 2009-09-06 2:42

Hello Kath,

De très belles couleurs comme j'aimerais en voir plus souvent chez moi. J'aime beaucoup la combinaison des fleurs violettes et de la roche bien éclairée.
Jolie ambiance.

Le WS est presque plus dynamique. Je le préfère.

A+

Dominique

jurek1951 (26162) 2009-09-06 2:51

Hi Kath,
This is a great composition, wonderful sharp colours and details,amazing light and a fantastic sky,
Georg

pajaran (3956) 2009-09-06 3:28

Dobar dan iz Srbije.
Dobar tekst uz fotografiju.
Dobra kopozicija,odlicne boje i ostrina snimka.
Pozdrav, Paja.

PixelTerror (86861) 2009-09-06 3:50

Hi Kath
Another nice one even though here for sure there are no sheep, the declining light highlights the flowers and stone textures, which is not as evident as here in the WS, but it has a better view opening
Have a nice sunday JY

kingurek (655) 2009-09-06 4:16

Hello,
Beautiful composition with this heath at the foreground. I like these lovely vivid colours contrasting with a soft sky. Your note is very interesting too. Thanks for sharing this wonderful and interesting image.

Greetings

Kinga

paura (39376) 2009-09-06 4:52

Kath,
Sharpness and colours are very nice here showing the interesting place. Great details allowed by the f/16. Very beautiful one.

Have a nice Sunday!

Paulo

hardyuno (2615) 2009-09-06 5:08

Hello Kath,
a very fine picture, i love this colours very much. You've done a great job here, with the light management.
Thanks for the information,too. I don't like shooting at all, but if it helps for the preservation of the grouse population.
friendly regards
Hartmut

bostankorkulugu (33984) 2009-09-06 6:41

LOL for the (not so glorious for the grouse!)... loved reading the note, and the shot is a good complementary to it, with the silky sky and the pink flowers surrounding the butts...

asajernigan (14304) 2009-09-06 7:10

Kath,
This is a nicely composed shot with the shooting butts being placed off center so that the purple of the heather is still seen. The low angled lighting provides nice warm colors for the scene. Thanks for an informative note.
TFS,
Asa

MarianneS (14436) 2009-09-06 9:40

Hello Kath,
Two very nice photos! I prefer this one for the way you show the textures of these rocks, completely surrounded by these flowers. The light is very important of course, as well as the sweetness of the sky.
Have a nice evening,
Marianne

Wandering_Dan (3297) 2009-09-06 10:25

Hi, Kath -

A photo that expresses the loneliness of the moors very well. The heather in particular is beautifully done.

And ISO 200 is standard speed, as far as I'm concerned.

Best,
Dan

Cricri (43790) 2009-09-06 11:32

Hi Kath
J'aime le constrate de la nature avec celui des vielles pierres, jolies teintes grâce a la lumière basse, intéressante note
Friendship
cricri

chawax (6197) 2009-09-06 11:34

Hi Kath,
Very nice light and wonderful heather colours !
Regards,
Olivier

coco (28146) 2009-09-06 11:56

Hi Kath.

The light is great. This light is a very beautiful light and I like the whole composition and the place.

Well done.

Gerrit (36313) 2009-09-06 13:19

Hi Kath,
wonderful repetition of those little stone buildings in this wide heather landscape.
Excellent composition,
regards, Gerrit

gneufeld (15235) 2009-09-06 18:25

Hi Kath,
I have really enjoyed the "heather" views lately by you and others. The stonework really adds a fine historic perspective to this fine shot. Good work - slight darkening of the sky was a good idea. Well done and TFS. Gerald

Graal (58786) 2009-09-06 23:19

Hi Kath,
an interesting place, view and informations. Yes, it's expensive hobby, £ 20.000 per day. Very nice presentation, good WS also. I like it.
Gr., Aleksander

saxo042 (16316) 2009-09-06 23:27

Hi Kath,
A very interesting note and picture! I guess this event is as important for the hunters here as the start of the elkhunting season in Sweden. But that season is only about one week and has alredy started in Norrland. Here in the south I believe it is in October (but I don´t hunt...). Still it must be nice for the hunters here to enjoy the beautiful landscape and heather colours, even if they don´t shoot anything.
Kind regards
Gunnar

shevchenko (10084) 2009-09-06 23:28

Hello Kath,
It is more look like a garden, really beautiful every where growing with these pink flora, golden sunlight increase the autumn feel, shooting with camera is cheaper than shooting with gun, interesting composition, thanks for sharing.
Ally

danyy (69499) 2009-09-06 23:36

Bonjour Kath,
j'apprécie beaucoup les couleurs de cette photos, une végétation magnifique et très typique bien mise en valeur ici et parmi elle, ces pierres millénaires qui font la richesse du patrimoine historique de cette région qui rivalise bien d'ailleurs avec le patrimoine naturel.
Amitié.
Daniel.

bakes888 (18353) 2009-09-07 1:55

Hi Kath.
There are always good arguments for and against the older practices. Nice catch, wonderful light and colours and I love the sky you have captured to cap off the scene. Thanks for sharing.
Have a good week, Paul.
PS You may catch the heather flowering over here when you visit.

josepmarin (34131) 2009-09-07 2:39

Hello Kath,
An interesting and very informative note, though I am not a lover of the hunting for any animal.
The strong graphism of these shooting butts, integrated on the terrain in a good camouflage, has a nice contrast with the field and its vegetation in vivid colors. The light is very well managed, the image has an impeccable lighting.
Excellent work.
Best wishes,
Josep

vasilpro (9497) 2009-09-07 8:39

Hello Kath,
Both pictures are beautiful. Very nice clarity, sharpness and lovely colors. The sky in the WS is great.
Greetings, Vasilis.

Kielia (8739) 2009-09-07 8:58

Hi Kath,
a very informative and interesting note is accompanying this wonderful image! But to be honest, the image in WS is even more beautiful due to this fantastic light. Very nicely contrasting colors! An impression that lets the heart of the hunter leap of joy! TFS!
Warm regards
Harriet

buscape (4030) 2009-09-07 9:58

Hello Kath,
original or workshop? That's the question. To be honest I can't make a decision, because both are really beautiful. I think you should have posted both as a original picture. ;-) Thank you for the good explanation about the use of these shooting butts. As regards myself, I prefer to shoot with my camera.
Best wishes,
Helmut

carper (65742) 2009-09-07 10:00

very nice atmosphere Kath,
good composition fine balance,good colors fine photo job here. I like, have a good evening Kath.
regard jaap

maxmitzu (453) 2009-09-07 10:05

Hi,
This is a wondeful composition, great sharp colours and details, amazing rock structure. Very good contrast. Great Note
Best regards

chrisnet (20376) 2009-09-07 12:07

Hello Kath,
It's a nice place, I like the beautiful vegetation and the wonderful texture of the rocks, well done.
Regards
Christian

gilou530 (35710) 2009-09-07 13:12

salut kath
cette série sur ce paysage aride me rappelle celui de nous cévennes au mont lozére, un endroit d'angleterre vraiment magnifique que tu mets parfaitement en valeur
amitiés
giblert

Royaldevon (5944) 2009-09-08 0:45

Hello Kath,

Very informative notes which clarified some things about which I was not certain.

You chose a good time to photograph, with the low sun creating that golden warmth, paricularly on the stones.
Good composition and pov; I do like how how the second focal butt is visible through the gap in the first one.

Have a good day,
Bev :-)

ChrisJ (70443) 2009-09-14 18:28

Hi Kath

Missed this one. They have things like these on strategic hills & cliffs in South Korea but not for shooting birds. There has been no peace treaty with North Korea since the 1950's :-(

Good placement of the main one off centre, & the bg one adds interest. I like the purple colour added by the heather. Tfs!

Angshu (34141) 2009-10-18 3:05

Hello Kath
The note is thoroughly interesting to read and something new for me. The only grouse I had heard so far was the 'Famous' one :-p
I seem to like the WS better and the light is mellow and fine in both..but I do agree this shot shows the butt better. The heather is of course delightful with its wonderful colours. I also note with interest you choice of ISO...I still have to learn a lot!
Best Regards
Angshu