Blog

Dorset Landscape Photography :
Bluebell Woods





There are many Bluebell Woods across Dorset, and amongst them, some really lovely ones. But none really come up to the standards of those in Hampshire or Wiltshire, (only in my humble opinion of course) ... in particular Micheldever in Hampshire, just outside of Winchester and those in West Woods, Marlborough.

This morning I set off for sunrise in those at Micheldever, which was a very early start from down here in West Dorset. It was clear skies all the way up to Winchester, which was looking very promising, when it suddenly clouded over and stayed that way until well after sunrise.

Not only that, but the section of wood I wanted to use as the sunrise setting had been trampled by the many many other photographers who had visited over the previous days and weeks. It does annoy me when you see other visitors not using the well laid out paths and simply trampling over the wild flowers, which then die and do not recover.... rant over.

The result was that the 'usual' sun shot, with shadows streaming through the trees across the bells didn't happen until the light was way too harsh, so instead I went wandering around the wood to some of the other sections which are not so widely known.

Dorset Landscape Photography
Langdon Bluebell Woods





I joined a few fellow photographers this evening for a quick walk through one of the Dorset Blubell woods we have locally here to Bridport, Langdon Woods near Golden Cap.

It was a time for some fun and a few different photographs ..... not just the usual stuff. I hope you enjoy them.

Dorset Landscape Photography
Sunset across the Marshwood Vale





A hazy evening finished with a lovely sunset across Bridport and the Marshwood Vale lighting up the skies.

Dorset Landscape Photography
Sunset across Bridport and the Marshwood Vale





A really hazy couple of days down here in Dorset. It seems as though West Dorset in particular is covered in this hazy, mist all the time, day and night, and its been hanging around for quite a while.

Tonight I tried to get above it and took to the hills to the East of Bridport and shot the sunset across the Marshwood Vale and the quarry hills of Bridport.

Spring has arrived and the Rapeseed fields are out in bloom and the lambs are jumping around all over the files. Its great!

Dorset Landscape Photography
A weekend in the Purbecks : Pt II
Sunrise over Corfe Castle





Sunday morning started early ..... very early, with the alarm going off at 4am to make sure I could be in position up West Hill by 5.45, a good half hour before sunrise.

The mists were already in place and for a while it looked really good, with the mists starting to build, the castle was looking very eerie in the mists with the glow of sunrise behind.





As the sun rose, the mists started to build, thicken and flow across the valley and hillside, and the castle disappeared all together for a while, and the entire valley was a white-out. So much so, that after an hour of waiting to see the outline of the castle again, without success, I decided it was time to move on and get back to bed.

With the change in viewpoint and being back on ground level, it seemed that the mists were clearing, so I moved to a different viewpoint, much further away, to see what the Castle looked like from afar.





Still shrouded in mists, the Castle was standing proud, but there was little detail around it on the valley floor, so I waited around a while and tried a couple of different viewpoints while the mists started to thin and burn off under the morning sun.





It was worth the early start!

Dorset Landscape Photography : Purbeck Pt I :
Swanage, Worbarrow & Kimmeridge



A weekend spent with a group of like minded photographers under the guidance of Ross Hoddinott & Mark Bauer from Dawn2Dusk Photography ..... you can always learn more.

We spent the weekend in the Purbecks, starting in Swanage, where we had a look round the piers, old and new. The weather was changeable with broken cloud over Swanage piers, which looked great for sunset later in the day, but during the afternoon thickened up, with some interesting textures across it, and then into the evening it started to break up and dissapear. Hope you enjoy the pictures ....

The new pier in Swanage is a great place to practice your compositions ....



Worbarrow Bay is just down from Tyneham Village and this area is closed during the week normally as its part of the firing range for the MOD. However, at weekend and holidays its open to visitors ..... walkers, families and the odd yacht too.



At the Eastern end of the bay is a group of large rocks, fallen from the cliffs above, which make for some great wave patterns.



And halfway round were some very interesting and colourful rocks, also fallen from the cliffs.





And lastly, we headed off to Kimmeridge Bay for sunset. The clouds were breaking as we arrived, but as it was almost high tide, much of the ledges and rocky ledges were covered over, so I headed over to one of my favourite place, Cavell's Pier.

Dorset Landscape Photography
Sunset over West Bay





It ended up as a clear sky down towards the setting sun tonight, so I turned around and watched at the clouds across the opposite side of the sky lit up as the sun sank below the horizon. A lovely cloud formation and a great dusky pink to end the day.

Dorset Landscape Photography
Low tide at Seatown





It was a glorious day down at Seatown on Thursday, with the temperatures up in the late teens ...... wonderful for this time of year in the UK, and a real change from the cold and hazy days of late.

The low tide along Seatown beach, under the cliffs of Golden Cap, uncovers an array of rocks and boulders all the way along the beach, but especially at the Eastern end of the beach.

It was late afternoon, but the sun was still high in the sky and the light was direct and harsh, making things a little challenging, but as we are not getting a suitable low tide sunrise here for months, if not longer, it had to do for now.

Using different ND filters, I took a series of shots at varying exposure times to create a variety of effects on the moving water.

Dorset Landscape Photography
West Bay sunsets

It was a weekend of lovely sunsets over West Bay.

Cornwall Landscape Photography
Porth Nanven revisited





A weekend spent in the Cornish landscape, along with a group of fellow photographer, all under the watchful eyes of Ross Hoddinott & Mark Bauer of Dawn2Dusk Photography.

We spent the weekend running around the mist/fog covered landscapes of Cornwall, including Godrevy Lighthouse, the Bottalack Tin Mines, Porth Nanven and then St Michaels Mount for sunrise the following day.

Well, it would have been great, but the mist rolled in and we couldn't see Godrevy for quite a while, and even when we did, it was shrouded in mist.

The mines at Bottalack were much the same, with low lying cloud or fog covering much of the hillsides around the remaining ruined buildings.





The sunset at Porth Nanven was a little better, with the mist lifting to leave a cloudy, dark and moody scene acros the rocks towards the Brisons as the tide came back in. A few long exposure shots caught the atmosphere.

Sunrise on Sunday morning ..... well, at St Michaels Mount, from halfway across the causeway, we still coudln't see the island at all!! A very foggy start to the day.

A great fun weekend, and a few good pics to share from it. Thanks to Ross & Mark for looking after us so well, and for keeping us entertained.

Dorset Landscape Photography
Sunset over Golden Cap



As the sunset tonight in a clear blue sky, it lit up the cliffs along the coast with the last of the Golden Hour light. Along with a low tide down at Charmouth, I decided to capture a different shot of Golden Cap.

The tide was low, the waves were very slight and the colours were glowing in the last of the afternoon sunlight.

Using a 10-stop filter, the Lee Big Stopper, the exposure time was 77 seconds, smoothing the water to mist. It was a shame there weren't any clouds in the sky, but still a lovely sunset.

There were a few members of the public out watching the sunset tonight, including a young lad from Chideock who had a remote control 'car' running around the beach. Congratulations to him for getting it up to 60mph and designing and building a carbon-fibre body at college. Cool!

Dorset Landscape Photography
Stormy Seatown





As the spring tides brough the lowest and highest tides of the year, I was hoping for great photo opportunities along the Jurassic Coast, with banks of rocks and ledges becoming visible at many of the coastal locations.

Seatown beach, in the shadow of Golden Cap, revealed a whole selection of rocks and boulders along the western half of the beach, which offered great photo potential. However, the weather on Tuesday lunchtime (the time of low tide) was thick cloud cover, giving the whole area an almost stormy look and feel.

Its definately a location to return to when the weather plays along.

Dorset Landscape Photography
Sunrise over Corfe Castle









Despite the forecast of mist and fog for Corfe & Wareham, it was relatively clear when I arrived early thismorning and started to climb West Hill, along with a number of other photographers.... all out trying to catch that magical classic Dorset shot of Corfe in the mist.

As the sun rose through the layers of thin cloud along the horizon, the mist slowly started to build and waft in from across the valleys and slowly but surely, surrounded the castle.

It ended up being a wonderful sunrise and with the mists, I was able to capture a few shots I was happy with, which will be added into the gallery shortly.

I met a number of ther photographers up there this morning, so Good Morning to Peter, Andy and all the others who were 'lucky' enough to see the sunrise too.

Dorset Landscape Photography
White Nothe afternoon





It was a glorious afternoon as I drove up to Ringstead Bay and walked over to White Nothe. It was warm and the sun was shining brightly and the skies were clear.

The view from the top of White Nothe along the South West Coastal Path towards Bats Head and Durdle Door was stunning. The contrast of the blue skies, white cliffs and blue calm seas made it look almost Mediterranean or Caribbean .... well I do have a vivid imagination.

Its worth a visit if your over that way. Its a great walk from either Ringstead Bay or up from Durdle Door and Bats Head, and the views are stunning.

Dorset Landscape Photography
Sunset at Durdle Door





Its the time of year when the sun sets and shines its light inside the arch over at Durdle Door. It only happens twice a year and lasts for about 10 days each time.

The skies were clear and it looked like the sun would light up the inside of the Door really well, but in the last 10 minutes, the sun dropped behind a bank of clouds. Before it fdropped however, it managed to light up the arch for a short while, before fading away.

They were only a few people out tonight, which was surprising, as it had been a lovely afternoon, clearing to blue skies and relatively warm, but there were only 2 photographers on the beach tonight.

As it set behind the clouds, it did manage to colour the skies for a few minutes, creating a peaceful sunset, with dusky pinks across the sky.

Dorset Landscape Photography
Low tides at Kimmeridge Bay





The low spring tides left most of Kimmeridge Bay and ledges uncovered this weekend. The lowest tides of the year left the banks glimmering in the afternoon sunshine, leaving the area looking like the surface of the Moon or Mars.

With so much uncovered and with so many patterns, textures and terrains to work with, this is a great place to visit and explore.





After leaving Kimmeridge and heading over to Lulworth for sunset, the whole area seemed to be covered in a dense mist, and with the setting sun shining directly throughi it, it was backlighting the landscape, making for some interesting shots.

Dorset Landscape Photography
Super Moon





The Super Moon rose just a few minutes after sunset, which gave the moon a wonderful red / orange glow to it as it rose through the layer of smog / mist that was sitting along the horizon.

Seen here rising above Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight, across the Solent and with the yachts of Keyhaven and the Keyhaven Marshes in the foreground.

I took this shot using the Nikon 70-200VR lens, and then switched to my Sigma 300mm so I could zoom in even closer. However, the Sigma developed a problem with its autofocus mechanism, which I did not realise until afterwards, so this is one of the only shots of the Super Moon I managed to capture. Enjoy it!

Dorset Landscape Photography
Spring tides, Super Moons and mists everywhere





A weekend of promise approaches .... a super full moon, closer to the Earth than its been in years, Spring tides offering the highest and lowest of the year and a weekend where mist seemed to be rollowing across the landscape.....

The moonrise the night before the 'Super Moon' was due, was still a great sight, with the moon rising over the cliffs of the Jurassic Coast. As the moon rose a few minutes before sunset, the cliffs along Golden Cap, West Bay, Burton Bradstock catch the last of the golden light.

Dorset Landscape Photography
Fire in the Sky over Hive Beach





The sunset looked promising this evening. Broken clouds were right across the sky and although there was a small bank of cloud on the horizon, it looked as though it wouldn't affect the after glow. For once, it played out exactly as that!

The clouds lit up as the sun set, firstly a white / milky colour which slowly tuned orange as the sun went down and then for a few minutes, it turned to these wonderful, fire'y colours ..... dusky pinky-blues, through pinks, orange and golds ... it really did look like the sky was on fire.

The boats on Burton Bradstocks Hive Beach once again form the foreground. The sun is moving North again as we head into Spring and the fishermen will start launching them off the beaches again soon, so it will all change down here shortly.

Nikon D90, Sigma 10-20mm @ 10mm, F9, 1/4 sec, Lee 0.6ND Hard Grad, ISO 100

Dorset Landscape Photography
Sunset over Freshwater, with a glass of wine





Following a grey and colourless trip to Dartmoor yesterday, it was amazing to see how clear the air was on Sunday. Driving East from Devon, back in to Dorset, the views were stunning and Portland could be seen from right across Lyme Bay, glistening in the afternoon sunshine.

Sunset was looking promising, so we set off to walk the cliff tops of Burton Bradstock heading from the river outlet at Freshwater Beach. A friend of mine, Cerian, joined me for the shoot, but doing it in style with a bottle of Rioja to help it along.

The sun was shining bright lighting up Portland beyond the golden cliffs, but the wonderful cloud patterns in the skies above Lyme Bay were disappearing fast and by the time sunset arrived, the majority had gone, leaving a few dusky pink streaks across the sky.





The Rioja certainly helped. Thanks Cerian.