A Late Autumn Trip to the Brecon Beacons Waterfalls
I’ve been making my annual trip to photograph the waterfalls in the Brecon Beacons for a few years now and although this year was no different, due to other commitments, I was limited as to when I could travel and ended up scheduling this year’s trip in mid-November.
Photographically (and in my opinion), the waterfall trails look their best while there are still plenty of leaves on the trees. Apart from adding life and colour to the woodland scenes, when the trees have their leaves, it helps to limit how much of the brighter sky creeps into the frame, as it can be incredibly distracting when composing the photos. With it being a few weeks later than I would have ideally wanted to visit, I was concerned I may not come away with anything of note this time.
Spoiler alert, I was right to be concerned as shortly after I arrived it became clear that most of the trees were now void of their leaves. I didn’t, however, allow it to sway my enthusiasm to push on and make the best of my time there, I just had to be prepared to dig a little deeper to get a keeper or two.
Looking up towards some cascades at the Blaen-y-glyn Falls
In previous posts about my trips to the Brecon Beacons, I’ve shared some extra information to help people looking to visit and photograph this fantastic area of Wales. In this post, I’ll refrain from repeating myself, but, if you’re after some additional info such as the best places to park, etc, you’ll find that in my previously published articles about my trips to the Brecon Beacons which added to the end of this article for your convenience.
The Four Falls Walk
During the trip, I spent much of my time along the Four Falls Walk and this section of the blog includes some of the photos I took there. The flow along Afon Mellte and Afon Hepste wasn’t particularly strong but there was just enough water to create some interesting compositions as it made its way down the valley.
I started this photography trip here, opposite Sgwd Clun Gwyn Uchaf. It’s a little tricky to get to, but I think this vantage point provides the best view of the falls. The first image is one I’ve taken before but something I noticed while there is that without any leaves to block the view, I was able to shoot from behind the trees, using the trunks to add a frame within a frame. You can see this in a few of the photos I’ve shared below. They are compositions that probably only work after the leaves have fallen and a good reminder that even when conditions aren’t what you intended, there are always new photographic opportunities to discover.
Fujifilm XT5 | XF10-24mm | 10mm | 1/3rd Second | f/13 | ISO125
Fujifilm XT5 | XF10-24mm | 10mm | 1/2 Second | f/13 | ISO125
Fujifilm XT5 | XF16-55mm | 32mm | 0.4 Seconds | f/14 | ISO125
Fujifilm XT5 | XF16-55mm | 27mm | 1.3 Seconds | f/10 | ISO125
Although there were a few trees clinging on to their autumnal colours dotted around (as pictured above), most of that autumn colour was now lying around on the floor and by looking for ways to include these fallen leaves in the image, I could still communicate what time of year the pictures were taken.
The leaves provided some fantastic foreground details and by getting low, as I did here at Sgwd Yr Pannawr, I was able to use them to help build a more interesting composition of the waterfall.
Fujifilm XT5 | XF10-24mm | 11mm | 1.3 Seconds | f/14 | ISO125
Fujifilm XT5 | XF10-24mm | 21mm | 0.8 Seconds | f/11 | ISO125
While photographing Sgwd Yr Pannawr, I took the opportunity to wander back upstream a few hundred metres to this spot alongside Sgwd Clun Gwyn Uchaf. I tried a few different places to get an interesting composition here, even climbing down and getting closer to those rocks below my feet, but I found that the lower I descended, the more of the sky crept into the frame, creating a rather large and distracting highlight at the top of the image.
After a little trial and error, nothing seemed to work and I soon realised that I needed to keep things simple and of all the photos I took, this classic composition of the falls was the one I liked the most.
Fujifilm XT5 | XF10-24mm | 13mm | 0.4 Seconds | f/14 | ISO125
Fujifilm XT5 | XF50-140mm | 56mm | 1 Second | f/11 | ISO125
Needing no introduction is Sgwd Yr Eira. A popular spot along the trail, particularly as it provides the unique opportunity for those visiting to walk directly behind the waterfall and because of this, there tends to be a lot more people here throughout the day. It’s for this reason i like to come here earlier in the morning as I often find myself here alone, allowing me to work on various compositions without needing to wait for people to move out of my frame.
I tried and failed to make use of what was left of the leaves along the banks so instead, used the cascades in the water to add some foreground interest to my compositions. Without too much water flowing downstream, the river was shallow enough for me to wade out towards the middle, and by playing around with different focal lengths and shutter speeds, I had a great time finding different ways to photograph the water with the falls in the background.
Fujifilm XT5 | XF10-24mm | 12mm | 0.8 Seconds | f/9 | ISO125
Fujifilm XT5 | XF10-24mm | 12mm | 0.4 Seconds | f/9 | ISO400
Fujifilm XT5 | XF16-55mm | 25mm | 1 Second | f/10 | ISO125
The Elidir Trail
Moving on from my time along the Four Falls Walk, I also spent a little time along the Elidir Trail. I typically prefer to photograph this area in overcast conditions as it avoids having to deal with harsh contrast and specular highlights across the scene but during this trip, the weather was a bit all over the place with long periods of clear skies. Along the Four Falls Walk, this is a little easier to deal with as the walls along the gorge are typically a lot higher, shading the falls from the sun but along the Elidir Trail, a lot more of the sunlight can creep into the scene and I struggled with this brighter light a lot more when the sun made an appearance. For that reason, and with there being very little foliage left, I only managed to take a couple of waterfall photos I’m happy with.
Fujifilm XT5 | XF10-24mm | 13mm | 5 Seconds | f/13 | ISO125
I took my first image above at Sgwd Gwladus (Lady Falls) and with the best composition being obvious (and for that reason shot a million times before), I find the trick to this location is to look for objects around the water to add compositional interest. During previous visits to this spot, I used the ferns for some foreground interest but this time, I found this large branch on the water’s edge and used it to add interest, a frame and a lead in line towards the falls.
The second waterfall photo I liked from those I took along the Elidir Trail was this one below at Sgwd Ddwli Isaf (Lower Gushing Falls). To add a little drama to this modestly sized cascade, I placed the camera close to this small overhand and once again, I used the fallen leaves on the rocks to provide a sense of time as well as a little interest to the lower part of the frame.
Fujifilm XT5 | XF10-24mm | 11mm | 1.3 Seconds | f/18 | ISO125
As I did along the Four Falls Walk, I also tried to photograph some alternative, intimate compositions such as the two I’ve shared below. Both are very different subjects but to my eye at least, they share a similar sense of natural chaos which I had fun trying to make a composition from.
Fujifilm XT5 | XF16-55mm | 31mm | 0.6 Seconds | f/11 | ISO125
Fujifilm XT5 | XF16-55mm | 55mm | 1/15th Second | f/8 | ISO125
The Blaen-y-glyn Falls
One thing I try to do on each trip to the Brecon Beacons is visit at least one new location and this time, I decided to drive across to explore the Blaen-y-glyn Falls. This circular walk is quite straightforward but soon after I arrived it became apparent that conditions were not optimal, and photos would be hard to come by. To get the best photos, I feel it’s an area that benefits a lot from fuller foliage and stronger flow in the river and having none of these, this visit quickly became a scouting opportunity.
I did, however, take a couple of photos from an offshoot to the main waterfall route which I came across as I made my way up the valley. With the sun to the south and these cascades running more west to east, enough of the harsh sunlight was blocked and by getting in close to the falls, I was able to add a little drama to the final composition. You can get a better idea of the size of these falls from the selfie photo I shared at the beginning of this article.
Fujifilm XT5 | XF10-24mm | 13mm | 1/2 Second | f/9 | ISO125
Climbing higher along this small offshoot I came across another waterfall, much taller than the one above but again, one I found tricky to photograph in its entirety. Noticing this fallen branch wedged at the base of the falls, I moved in a bit closer and composed an image around it. The falling water was like a spotlight pointing down towards the branch which I positioned to the left of me, creating a useful diagonal line, anchoring the composition nicely.
I love the mood, the simplified arrangement and balance offered by the square crop and by playing around with both long and short exposures, I ended up with these two versions below. I struggled to choose a favourite from the two, so I’ve included them both.
Fujifilm XT5 | XF16-55mm | 31mm | 30 Seconds | f/9 | ISO125
Fujifilm XT5 | XF16-55mm | 32mm | 0.8 Seconds | f/9 | ISO125
Sychryd Falls
The last stop on my tour of Waterfall Country was here at Sychryd Falls. Although I knew the trees would be bare, I was hoping there would be plenty of leaves on the rocks to use to build a new composition but as you can see, there were some, enough to get a sense of time, but nowhere near enough to create a feature of them.
In the end, the scattering of leaves played a supporting role, and I used the small cascades and ferns closest to me to build a strong foreground, leading the eye towards the main falls and bridge in the background.
Fujifilm XT5 | XF10-24mm | 11mm | 1/2 Second | f/10 | ISO125
Looking back as I write this post, I’m pleasantly surprised by how many photos I like and was able to share from this recent trip to the Brecon Beacons. Spoiled by amazing conditions on previous visits, there were many a time I had to dig deep to overcome an initial feeling of being underwhelmed by the scene in front of me, but after having many words with myself to look deeper and think outside the box, I found myself driving home with images I was excited to start processing.
As I mentioned, here are two articles documenting a couple of my previous trips to Waterfall Country which also include some useful information to help those visiting this location for the first time.
Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.
Until next time.
Trevor