South Coast Jaunt
South Coast JauntA visit to my mother in South East England comes to an end, my Euro Tunnel train check in is not until 7pm. What to do? Have an afternoon of camera time on the south coast, naturally.
Various places were recommended to me but after an internet recce I settled on Dungeness as my destination of choice. The nuclear power station aside, the lighthouses and abandoned fishing boats make fantastic photographic subjects. I had in my mind images of static objects and scudding clouds but would the weather play ball? The last few days had been temperamental to say the least and I would have to go with whatever mother nature threw at me. I headed directly to the end of the road where the Dungeness lighthouses stand. Stepping out of the car was a battle against the winds. With the nuclear power station behind me I easily found my vantage point to photograph the lighthouse. Moody clouds were flying across the sky in the strong winds. Shortly after this the wind blew all the cloud away and left me with lovely blue skies - not what I had in my mind's eye for the shoot! I can't decide whether I prefer the long exposure or the moody cloud shot better. It changes depending on my mood each day. A spell in the car to thaw out with my trusty thermos of coffee was definitely required!
With no new cloud coming in my direction I headed back along the beach to the area where there are so many abandoned fishing boats and old huts. I captured a few of these but this is my favourite. I had to wait quite a while after I'd set up for the right type of cloud to come scooting past.
Nikon D700, 24-70mm @ 48mm, ISO 100, f/20, 120secs, tripod, Lee Big Stopper, Lee 0.9 ND With Dungeness now basking in glorious sunshine I decided to relocate to Winchelsea, a half hour drive away. I knew from my research the night before that the tide would be turning and due to be going out about that time and I had heard that it has a multitude of groynes - not only going out to sea but also, unusually, parallel to the sea. Definitely something to be seen and explored. Groynes and misty sea created by long exposures may be ten-a-penny but I still find joy in creating them. Finding the right view point, your time limited by the flow of the tide, setting up the camera and filters, working out the ideal exposure time. The entire process engrosses me and takes me away from the daily whirl that usually occupies by mind.
Time marched on and before I knew it the alarm on my iPhone was ringing to say time to go. However, sunset was developing nicely and I couldn't possibly leave yet. A quick calculation of time, speed and likely traffic and I decided I could risk staying a little longer. I was treated to watching mother nature's show develop into a delicate and beautiful sunset. Once captured I hot-footed it back to the car and managed to make my train check-in with time to spare. It may have meant getting home to Zuid Holland obscenely late but it was a lovely afternoon at a couple of locations I certainly hope to re-visit. Nikon D700, 24-70mm @ 45mm, ISO 100, f/16, 10sec, Lee 0.9 ND
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Comments
Enid Thorndycraft(non-registered)
Lovely photo. Love the sunset
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