To date, I’ve made quite a few trips to photograph the waterfalls in the Brecon Beacons, and I’ve typically chosen to visit this area of Wales during spring and autumn to take advantage of the vibrant greens or autumnal colours provided by the woodlands at those times. This year, to mix things up a bit, I decided to schedule a visit towards the end of summer. Unlike many landscape photographers, I actually enjoy photographing the summer woodland and relish the challenge of seeking interesting images in a relatively difficult environment. With the fuller foliage helping to keep the bright skies out of my compositions, I set off on the 3–4 hour drive to the Brecon Beacons National Park in South Wales.

It’s worth noting that this summer has been quite a dry one, so I was expecting a light flow of water along the Afon Hepste—and as you can see from the photo of me standing in front of the upper section of Sgwd Isaf Clun-Gwyn, this was indeed the case. Typically, where I’m standing has gushing water falling over it, but with it being so dry I was able to climb down and stand in a spot that’s not often reachable.

Trevor Sherwin standing in front of the upper section of Sgwd Isaf Clun-Gwyn — *Fujifilm XT5 | XF10-24mm | 10mm | 1/6th Second | f/10 | ISO125*

Photographing the details

The day I arrived, there was very little cloud and plenty of high-contrast sunlight filtering into the valley, which made it difficult for me to take the style of photo I prefer. So, instead of fighting those specular highlights in the scene, I mounted the telephoto lens and spent the first part of the day zooming in on the falls and photographing smaller, more intimate compositions.

A close-up photo of Sgwd Yr Eira waterfall — *Fujifilm XT5 | XF50-140mm | 111mm | 0.6 Seconds | f/11 | ISO125*

I spent a fun couple of hours with the telephoto lens, experimenting with different shutter speeds to create various effects in the water. The longer the shutter speed, the silkier the water became, and you can see the different settings I used directly beneath each photo in this article.

A close-up photo of the top of Sgwd Yr Eira waterfall — *Fujifilm XT5 | XF50-140mm | 111mm | 1 Second | f/14 | ISO125*

Photographing Sgwd y Pannwr

When the cloud cover finally increased, it became easier to use a wider focal length and capture the entire waterfall in one frame without contending with harsh light on the landscape. At Sgwd y Pannwr, I climbed down to the plunge pool beneath the main falls to see if I could find something to use as foreground interest. After a few minutes of hunting around and testing different compositions, I settled on a couple of options—using either the rocks on the edge of the water or the green ferns further back. Both of these are posted below.

A photo of Sgwd y Pannwr waterfall taken in the Brecon Beacons — *Fujifilm XT5 | XF50-140mm | 52mm | 1/2 Second | f/9 | ISO125*

A close-up photo of Sgwd y Pannwr waterfall in the Brecon Beacons — *Fujifilm XT5 | XF50-140mm | 140mm | 1/2 Second | f/9 | ISO125*

Photographing Sgwd Isaf Clun-Gwyn

During the two-day trip, I spent a little time at Sgwd Isaf Clun-Gwyn, my favourite of all the falls along the Four Falls Trail. This waterfall is made up of multiple drops, offering many different photographic opportunities, but what I really like is how, beyond the obvious compositions, it challenges you to work harder to find interesting shots.

A photo of Sgwd Isaf Clun-Gwyn taken in the Brecon Beacons — *Fujifilm XT5 | XF16-55mm | 25mm | 1/4th Second | f/11 | ISO125*

A photo of the upper level of Sgwd Isaf Clun-Gwyn taken in the Brecon Beacons — *Fujifilm XT5 | XF10-24mm | 17mm | 1/4th Second | f/7.1 | ISO125*

I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts that this view of Sgwd Isaf Clun-Gwyn is by far my favourite. Reaching it isn’t easy, and I mean that literally—this waterfall really makes you work for your shots. There are a couple of ways to get here: one involves scrambling down an almost vertical rock face (not for the faint-hearted), while the other is an easier stroll along the edge of the river—but only when water levels are low enough. Once you arrive, the effort feels worth it: the trees naturally frame the falls, highlighting the cascading water as it tumbles down the rocks into the plunge pool below.

Photographing Sgwd Einion Gam

During previous visits to the Brecon Beacons, I’ve hiked along the Elidir Trail a couple of times, but I’ve never managed to reach Sgwd Einion Gam. It’s nicely tucked away upstream from Sgwd Gwladys, but to get there, you need to cross the river a couple of times—and on previous visits, the water levels have been too high.

As I wandered along the Elidir Trail this time, I could see that the water levels were far too low to make interesting waterfall photos, so I decided to hike up the river to Sgwd Einion Gam and use the opportunity to familiarise myself with the route for a future visit when conditions might be a little better.

A long exposure photo of Sgwd Einion Gam waterfall taken in the Brecon Beacons — *Fujifilm XT5 | XF16-55mm | 26mm | 40 Seconds | f/9 | ISO125*

As I suspected, the waterfall itself was underwhelming due to the lack of water, but it was still an impressive space to experience. Even though I wasn’t expecting much, I managed to capture a couple of long-exposure photos, making the most of the time I had there.

The image below is the result of being drawn to how the reflective light was falling on the rockface, making it appear almost metallic to the eye. With the help of an ND filter, I made a long exposure, smoothing out the water, leaving just a few trails of fallen leaves and enabling the texture of the rocks to stand out in the composition.

The shiny surface of a rock face near Sgwd Einion Gam waterfall taken in the Brecon Beacons — *Fujifilm XT5 | XF16-55mm | 39mm | 25 Seconds | f/9 | ISO125*

Photographing Sgwd Yr Eira

No trip to the Four Falls trail would be complete without photographing the famous Sgwd Yr Eira waterfall. Due to its popularity along the trail, I always make a point to arrive early in the morning, as that’s the only time you can take photos free of other people, so the next morning, I woke up and headed straight here.

Having spent some time here the day before photographing the details with my telephoto lens, I wanted to take a few wider compositions to feature the summer foliage, and by getting my camera lower to the ground, I could use the rocks and small cascades to add some foreground interest.

A photo of Sgwd Yr Eira with summer green leaves taken in the Brecon Beacons — *Fujifilm XT5 | XF10-24mm | 17mm | 0.6 Seconds | f/13 | ISO125*

Shortly after taking the photos of Sgwd Yr Eira above, I noticed an impressive fern on the other side of the water. I stopped what I was doing, mounted my telephoto lens to gain a little more reach, and composed the shot so the fern would fill the entire frame. I think it’s important to keep an open mind while out in the field, as I’ve certainly been guilty many times of focusing on a single subject or composition and potentially missing out on others.

A large fern plant photographed in the Brecon Beacons — *Fujifilm XT5 | XF50-140mm | 129mm | 1/4th Second | f/9 | ISO125*

A quick stop at Blaen-y-glyn Falls

Before heading home, I made one last stop at the Blaen-y-glyn Falls. My expectations for waterfall photography were quite low, as the flow was just as light here as it had been along the Elidir Trail. Still, I made a point of visiting, wanting to explore and see how the place looked in summer. I did get my camera out a couple of times and took a few scouting shots, but only one made the cut to be featured below.

This composition is similar to one I photographed on a previous visit, though back then the greens were more subdued and there was more water falling onto the log wedged solidly at the base of the waterfall. I like the subtlety of the water as it falls, framed by a wall of green moss and plant life, and I find it interesting how the fallen branch has come to rest exactly where the water lands, sticking out from the wall at an almost perfect 90-degree angle. Using a similar composition to the one I captured the previous year, I took this final photo of the trip.

A delicate waterfall and trapped wooden log taken at the Blaen-y-glyn Falls in the Brecon Beacons — *Fujifilm XT5 | XF16-55mm | 25mm | 0.4 Seconds | f/14 | ISO125*

That’s it for another trip to this beautiful location in the Brecon Beacons, Wales. If you want to read about some of my previous trips photographing the falls in the spring and autumn months, check out the links below.

Until next time,

Trevor

Summertime Waterfall Photography in the Brecon Beacons