Location notes - Shooting Autumn on the moor

“Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; 

Conspiring with him how to load and bless, with fruit and vines that round the thatch eves run; to bend with apples, the moss’d cottage trees, and fill all fruit with ripeness to the core, to swell the gourd and plump the hazel shells with a sweet kernel; to set budding more, and still more, later flowers for the bees, until they think warm days will never cease, for summer has o’er brimme’d their clammy cells”

To Autumn - John Keats

I don't like autumn.

It’s a melancholy time that comes all too soon. It seems just moments ago we welcomed the first blossom of spring, the return of the dawn chorus, the lighter evenings and the hints of a summer yet to be born. And yet, here we are, staring down the barrel of the long dark nights, days of rain, of never really feeling warm, of silent hedgerows and bare trees. We are at our furthest from the sun and the warmth and from life anew. 

Wow, what a cheerful opening to this blog post! Have I lost you yet? No?

Good - because thankfully, as much as I hate it, autumn is also the very best time of year to be a photographer and this knowledge alone might just be enough to sustain me over the long dark, wet slog towards spring. 

Summer is wonderful, of that there is no doubt, but as a photographer can often be just …boring. 2025 has seen the warmest, driest summer on record and whilst the weather has been sublime, the photography conditions have been dire. Day after day of clear blue skies, early sunrises and empty sunsets, have conspired to reduce me to only a handful of decent shots since the spring. I'm not fortunate enough to be a full time photographer, so I have to work for a living, and that, combined with a young family means that I have very few opportunities to get out with the camera. It’s probably no surprise then, that this summer I have come close to falling out of love with photography - heading out on those precious expeditions only to return week in, week out, without evening opening my camera bag. It’s been tough to say the least. 

So I find myself in the unusual position of actually looking forward to reacquainting with my nemesis this year. I’ve started to relish the prospect of more clouds in the sky, to some colour at dawn, mist and maybe even some frost - to see the season as Keats does. And thankfully, Dartmoor is the perfect place to find the very best of the saddest season. 

 So what to shoot? 

Well, I’ll win no prizes for originality by saying that the most obvious subject would be the autumn colours. Dartmoor isn’t blessed with a vast array of broadleaved trees, but those that grow here are truly spectacular at this time of year. The majority tend to cling to the steep slopes of the moor’s great river valleys and this provides the ideal conditions in which to photograph beautifully misty scenes. The autumnal palette is dominated by the dying bracken - and the photographer should never struggle to find shades of orange and gold on the moor at this time of year. Berries are good too, with the Hawthorns once again providing seasonal interest. The ponies are starting to prepare for harder times and their coats and manes will thicken and become more shaggy, making for some great character portraits. And best of all are the dramatic dawns as the rising sun, weaker now, competes with the apocalyptic morass of  Dartmoor’s many rain clouds - its rays valiantly lighting up the sky for the briefest moment before being snuffed out by the gloom. I think it makes sense to spend a little time, therefore, looking at the weather conditions that will be so important to your shot.  

 Whatever your subject or composition, it is probably the weather that will anchor your shot to autumn. Whilst the summer (and to some extent winter) on the moor can be quite bland, autumn gives you everything. Mist, fog, rain clouds, rainbows and very occasionally frost. You might even get a little sun if you are lucky! Of these, it is mist and fog that are most coveted for your autumnal image. 

 Photography is all about preparation. A typical week for me is dominated by the weather and looks a bit like this - at the start of the week I check the forecast and begin to think about what I might shoot to suit the conditions - I tend to have several plans on the go at once because things change so fast on the moor. By mid week I’ll refine my plans as the forecast gets more accurate and I might shortlist one or two locations. Then finally, 24 hours before heading out, I’ll make a final check, settle on a location and plan the shot in detail. So, what weather conditions am I looking for in autumn?  

• For a colourful sunrise - I tend to look for around 20 - 40% cloud cover, and ideally a bright morning following overnight rain. If showers are forecast I might take a gamble and head out anyway as the conditions could be perfect for rainbows with the added potential for very dark, menacing clouds against the golden light of the rising sun. But this is Dartmoor and there is a very good chance the showers will be heavier than expected and wipe out the whole shoot. It's very much a risk/reward situation but one I often take to dramatic effect.
• For mist - Misty sunrises involve a combination of factors - a clear night with a rapid drop in temperature, high humidity (either from recent rainfall or saturated ground) and light to no wind. Get these three factors together and you may be in luck and if you are, the results are breathtaking. 
• For fog - Dartmoor is renowned for fog but it can be exceedingly dangerous. I’ve laid out some tips for foggy photography below but generally you tend to get fog on Dartmoor when the wind is from the South West, bringing warm and moist air off the Atlantic. When that hits the cooler upland temperatures of the moor, fog is formed. 

I’d like to linger a little on mist and fog here, because rain, sun and frost are all fairly self explanatory and it’s worth understanding these conditions a little better. 

Mist is the holy grail of autumnal photography. As I've set out above, you need a combination of three weather factors for the best chance of a misty sunrise, but you also need some geographical features too, and this knowledge will lead you to predict the best locations on the moor. Mist tends to form over water or in valleys and thankfully the moor has plenty of these. If you anticipate a misty dawn, I’d recommend heading to the river valleys - The Dart is fantastic, but the Teign works really well too. For best effect, get high above the valley so you are looking out over the mist. Viewpoints such as Buckland Beacon, Mel Tor, Sharp Tor, Bench Tor or Combestone Tor all give you different viewpoints and perspectives of the Dart, whilst Castle Drogo is the spot to head for if you want the Teign gorge.

Mist forms well outside of the river valleys too. Dartmoor’s carpet of peat and moss holds water most of the year round, so if the conditions are right, head to any elevated Tor and you should find some misty scenes. The cold, damp conditions caused by the granite seem to pull in mist like a magnet and you can get some truly stunning compositions as the sun rises through it, silhouetting the rocks as they rise from their diaphanous shrouds. For this to really be effective, look for the more dramatic Tors - Bellever Tor, Saddle Tor, Hound Tor or Bonehill Rocks work really well. I’d be less inclined to look for the smaller and more squat tors if you want a cloak of mist, as you really need the rocks to rise above, or peer out through, the mist in your shots. 

Fog is a different beast. Although formed by similar conditions, the fog on the moor is far more dangerous. Dartmoor fog is notorious for the speed of its appearance and its dense, immediately disorienting quality which can make even the most familiar location seem like an alien landscape. Indeed I once got caught in a small, fully enclosed field that I know extremely well -within minutes the fog descended and I lost all my bearings and sense of direction in the blink of an eye. It's very frightening and even the greatest minds can be caught out…

“There hung a great white fog, it was drifting slowly in our direction, and banked itself up like a wall on that side of us, low, but thick and well defined. The moon shone on it and it looked like a great shimmering ice field, with the heads of distant tors as rocks borne upon its surface.   Holmes’ face was turned towards it, and he muttered impatiently as he watched its sluggish drift. 

“Its moving towards us, Watson”

“Is that serious?”

“Very serious indeed - the one thing upon earth which could have disarranged my plans!

Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle - The Hound of the Baskervilles 

I’ll write a separate post on staying safe when out photographing the moor, but there are some basic tips you can observe if you consider photographing the fog. The main thing is to make sure someone knows where you are. Its a very bad idea to head out without telling people where you are going, so leave your schedule with a family member or friend - the area you will be working in and what time you will be back. That way, if something goes wrong, people will notice and get help to you. If you do get suddenly enveloped, stay calm, seek shelter and wait it out if you can. Phone signal is patchy on the moor but call for help if you can. I also strongly recommend a location based app such as What3 Words or My GPS location - I’ve found the latter works extremely well on the moor and allows you to share it with your contacts too. But I think the best way to get decent images and stay safe in the fog is to avoid it completely. I use two strategies for this.

Firstly, do what you can from the car - it is limiting but keeps you much safer than walking about (although you do need to take care driving too). Find a spot to park up and watch the fog rolling across the landscape - it will drift and thicken, then suddenly peel back, and when the light hits it, the results can be amazing - trees and tors appearing wraith-like, from within. I particularly like shots of grey Dartmoor ponies concealed by the conditions - their colours blending seamlessly with the murk leaving you question if they are ever really there at all…

The second (and better) technique is to get into the clear conditions, right above the fog. Shooting from above (the effect is known as an Inversion) gives you the same perspective you get in an aeroplane when you punch through the clouds - dull and vile below, bright colours and blue sky above, with a bed of fluffy white cotton wool between. I head for somewhere like Saddle Tor, Rippon Tor, Pork Hill or Haytor and then set up with a 300mm lens, looking out over the fog filled valleys, estuaries and forests far below. When the rising sun hits the shadows and light, the pink and purple hues are straight from another world. For these conditions, you want it to be clear on Dartmoor (foggy here too and nothing will work) so look for days when the fog is thick at low level and hope for the best. It is hit and miss, but even if you only get the right conditions once in every ten outings, it will still be worth it. A photographer’s dream.  

So with the conditions sorted, it's time to think about what to shoot and where. 

I think you broadly have two types of shot on the moor - autumnal colours and autumnal scenes. The two are not mutually exclusive and the sweet spot is really any composition where the two styles converge. 

For colour, without a doubt, the most rewarding locations once again,  are the river valleys. My choice would be the Dart Valley, simply because it affords so many options. Start using the techniques described earlier in this blog and get up above the valley and look down into it. This will give you the options to shoot up and downstream and will maximise the impact of the colours. I recommend Mel Tor, which sits roughly midway along the valley and gives you a variety of compositions. There is something ethereal about standing on the rocky outcrop, almost hanging out over the valley, as the mighty river thunders through the bronzed canopy below heading forever onwards, towards the rising sun(see my earlier blog on Combestone Tor for the tale of the Cry of the Dart). For a different perspective of the same valley, try Buckland Beacon (sometimes called the Ten Commandment stones). Here you are looking out across at the valley (rather than up or down it) and from this angle, the river takes on the appearance of veins and capillaries, carrying the life blood of the Dart through its lush temperate rainforest. 

 Don’t just restrict yourself to soaring above the valleys though, getting in amongst the trees can be just as rewarding. Here, the ancient oaks cling to the slopes and river banks, gnarled roots entwined with emerald moss covered boulders and the brackish peat stained water mirrors the autumnal bronze canopy above. This is the ideal place and the ideal time for long exposure photography (a technique I will cover in more depth in an upcoming blog) if you want to give the water a milky dreamlike quality, or simple conventional landscape compositions if you prefer. Details are good here too. I sometimes get overwhelmed by the options available to me at this time of year so tend to focus on one subject rather than a whole scene. I’ve had some success with a single autumn leaf carried on the water or balanced on a rock, mushrooms are plentiful too and there are many spots on the Dart where the much sought after Fly Agaric brings vivid colour to your shot. Dartmoor is well known for its bridges and the ancient medieval Holne Bridge and NewBridge on the Dart or the Packhorse Bridges of Fingle Bridge and Steps Bridge on the Teign, make wonderful images when framed against their surrounding woodland at this time of year. 

 If you are looking for something other than a river valley, another option would be a composition featuring one of the many Beech Boundaries found on the moor. Beech trees have the most impressive colours of all our native trees and these distinctive features of moorland life are hedge banks formed of Beech in the 18th & 19th Century to cultivate fields from the surrounding wilderness. As they mature into veteran trees, they provide excellent shelter from the sun and wind and their linear arrangement makes for really interesting leading lines in your shot. There are numerous examples found on the north of the moor - most notably at Prewley Moor (Sourton), and at Mary Tavy (right on the edge of the A386). Further examples can be found at the Four Winds car park at Merivale, Bell Tor ( just up from Poundsgate and not to be confused with other Bell Tors on the moor!) and around Swallerton Gate at Hound Tor.  

 But for me, the ultimate autumn shot is the Prince Hall hotel. Situated between Dartmeet and Princetown, this 16th Century manor, said to be the inspiration for Conan Doyle’s Hound of the Baskerviles, is approached via an imposing Beech lined drive. This is impressive at any time of the year, but the autumnal colours and the perspective of the trees, really pull the viewer into the shot, especially when side lit by the rising sun or veiled in a light mist. If you only have time for one autumn shot, make it this one - you won't be disappointed.

 General autumnal scenes are easy to find and exist almost everywhere on the moor. At this time of year, the summer bracken is fading fast and from almost every viewpoint, the base hue is bronze as far as the eye can see. The hedgerows come to life now too and are more active than at any time since the spring. Berries and fruits are plentiful so be quick to get them into your shot before the moor’s songbirds and small mammals cash in on the all too rare bounty - there are limited options to stock up for a harsh winter here, so you can’t really begrudge them!

 I tend to use the hawthorns a lot at this time of year. There is something quite pagan about the tree in the autumn, now stripped bare of its soft summer finery, and left to stand in the brittle, dying fields of flaming bracken, draped in Old Man’s Beard and crowned with plump red berries - a living embodiment of the Woodwose as we enter the Autumn Equinox, the sabbat that invites us to look inward and prepare for the winter ahead. The rule of thirds is quite important for this type of shot. I’ve stated before that in general, I don't like this concept - I know it’s very established in photography but I normally find it far too restrictive and prefer to be spontaneous, composing for what looks right at the time, not necessarily how I should do it (quick reminder - rule of thirds is the concept by which a scene is split with two horizontal and two vertical lines, placing key elements at the points at which they meet). 

Autumnal scenes though, have a lot of moving parts, and so this concept does work well for the types of hedgerow and hawthorn shots described above. I would broadly suggest a composition that consists of:

• Bottom third - bracken. This gives you the colour palette your shot needs so should occupy at least a third of your shot.
• Middle third - Hedgerow (coming in from left or right of shot) or tree off centre
• Top third - brooding autumnal sky - not hard to find on Dartmoor at this time of year!

 Finally, we should consider the time of day. I shoot primarily at dawn all year round, and whilst it almost always gives good conditions (except in high summer), it is now that the conditions are at their best. It is the only time of day I shoot in the autumn. 

 Sunrise is a must for mist. It is also the best time of day to make the most of the colours - the soft side lighting of golden hour will always accentuate the natural colours of the season which tend to get lost a little in what weak midday sun now exists. Like with any season, the granite comes to life when warmed by the rising sun, and I like locations such as Emsworthy Rocks and Chinkwell Tor - there are no obstructions from the east so the rising sun can be used to full effect, and both have far reaching distant views that make the most of the autumn essentials this blog has covered.

 I do hope this blog has given you some inspiration and optimism - that although the autumn marks the end of so many things, it also brings colour, drama and life. The months ahead will be dark and cold, but the genius of nature ( and of course photography) is that even at the hardest times, you can find light and hope. The wheel will turn, the spring will be back with us soon. Until then, go and grab your camera and get your feet muddy. Dartmoor wont disappoint you. 

And you know what? I think I actually do like autumn after all.