While canal building has been around since Roman times, when the industrious conquerors built the Fossdyke to connect Lincoln to the River Trent, it wasn’t until the Industrial Revolution that it really took off in the UK.
Burgeoning industry needed a better method of transporting goods and raw materials than by road, and canals offered the solution. A horse could tow up to 50 tons of cargo in a boat, connecting mines with factories and factories with cities. There was a frenzy of canal building, from 1759 to the end of the 18th century but it was to be short lived as a competing, integrated national railway took shape by the middle of the 19th century. The profit in canal building disappeared and the waterways slowly fell out of use for industry. It took nationalisation in 1947 to save the remnants of the canal system and then it was down to mainly leisure activities that put them to use.
What, when and where to shoot
Canals are interesting in that they can be found in the countryside, complete with greenery and pleasant paths used for leisure pursuits, but their original purpose was industrial transportation, so are present in cities, with buildings and artificial lighting as backdrops. There are also associated elements, such as bridges, docks or marinas for the boats, toll houses and, of course, locks, enabling the canal to climb over elevated stretches of terrain.
Let’s start in the towns and cities, which are the most interesting ones, with the docks for the canal boats which, at this point, are usually marinas for pleasure craft. Sunrise and sunset are obviously key photographic opportunities, but in a city the setting sun is often obscured by buildings and in the other direction, those same buildings can stop light falling onto the areas surrounding the dock.
If it’s a cloudless sky, so you don’t get any visual pyrotechnics, or, at the other end of the spectrum, it’s actually cloudy, then waiting until dusk is a better option. Now the sky deepens to a blue color and the artificial lights of the buildings are reflected in the water. As the water in the dock isn’t going anywhere, it’s only the wind that’s going to affect the reflections. If this is the case, then use a longer exposure to blur the ripples - something like 15 seconds. Don’t focus on the water either; focus on the nearest building or boat that’s moored up. The idea is to shoot across the water, towards the points of interest, using a wide-angle lens. The size and distance away of those objects determine what kind of focal length to use.
In the case of the photo of Leeds Dock (above) it needed an 18-35mm lens, at the widest setting and an aperture of f/14 in order to get an exposure of 30 seconds as the wind was causing a lot of rippling on the water.
Zone/Evaluative metering is generally okay for this kind of shot as there isn’t too much difference in the light in the sky compared to the water. Using centre-weighted and metering off the buildings would be an equally valid option. The other thing to consider is whether to use a polarizing filter to ensure maximum reflection on the water. It will extend the shutter as well, which will be an advantage on those windy days.
Once away from the dock, look out for bridges, canal paths and locks. For these an aperture of f/5.6-f/11 should be fine, focusing on the important element. For shots that involve a longer stretch of water, consider switching to portrait orientation and using a narrower aperture to keep more of it in focus. The tricky shot would be shooting back towards the setting sun - see the photo of the bridge, above - where the light in the sky is much brighter than on the water or the parts of the embankment that are in shadow.
A graduated ND filter will certainly help but even so, you may need to shoot in RAW and lighten the dark areas up in post-processing. The important thing is not to lose the highlights.
Into the countryside
Once the canals head out of the close confines of the city then, invariably, you’ll be on the towpath. Now you’re looking for areas that aren’t completely enclosed by trees and where there are attractive and colourful longboats to photograph. Look for corners and curves in the canal that add a little more visual interest than straight lines. For a shot with lots of boats in view, focus on the first one and use an aperture of f/16-f/22 to keep the rest acceptably sharp. If the shutter speed falls too low and you didn’t want to lug a tripod about, then simply increase the ISO rating. If your lens has IS/VR or the camera has IBIS, then you get away with a slower shutter speed, but this is your call based on your own equipment. For just one boat in view, use f/8 and focus on the prow.
One feature to look for is where the canal has to climb over a natural rise and uses locks to do it. For these switch to portrait orientation and focus on the first lock, showing the rest rising up behind. Some early morning or late afternoon sun will help here as otherwise the locks may largely be in the shade.
Finally, look out for interesting historic buildings along the canal path or even some examples of wildlife such as herons. Use a telephoto lens for these and a wider aperture to lose the background and make the bird stand out. Focus on the eye and compose so the bird is looking into the scene.
To photograph canals and locks you want a wide angle lens and a telephoto lens for close-up shots of boats and locks. Don't forget to take a tripod for those long exposure shots as well.
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