A Walk by the Sea
The photo walk started off at Seaford Head Nature reserve, with parking at South Hill Barn which is free. I was on a bit of a mission to see what in camera and out of camera multiple exposures could achieve with the canvas of the sea and how they would both portray movement. You quickly reach the cottages which are an iconic composition with the seven sisters - the chalk hills in the above image - but I wanted to leave them out, so I walked up the hill a bit. This is an out of camera multiple exposure using photoshop and an extra background layer. Trying other compositions led to the creation of these two….
I really liked the way there were squiggles in the water showing the huge amount of waves that there were on this summer day but I wasn’t as keen on the composition of the land. Of course all of this is subjective and you may disagree with me but the next image which was taken in camera really encapsulated for me the beauty of the Seven sisters and the sea. It was hard to do as it was really windy so keeping any kind of consistent composition was difficult - but it seemed to work. I think it’s captures the movement of the waves really well and the beautiful white of the cliffs.
Next was down on the beach where I used multiple exposure to produce the following two images of waves. The in camera image is the one on the left and I find that it has more of a sense of movement than the photoshopped image - although I do like both as representations of the sea that I saw. The waves were endless and kept rolling in small wave by small wave - it was a privilege to be watching them and drinking in the atmosphere. I can see why people would move to be beside the sea as it has a hugely calming effect and I could spend hours down on the beach, watching the waves and allowing my thoughts to just run slowly through my head.
Whilst on the beach there were a few more images I composed from the textures of the seaweed to the other visitors enjoying the British summer views by the cliffs and some more multiple exposure work on the groyne that was there. Taking a macro lens there was plenty of opportunity for more close up images of the stones, sea plants, degrading wood of the groynes, the light sparkling on the water and the plants living in the inhospitable stones. I would definitely recommend it as an afternoon (or morning) out. You could make your way back to the car park at the top of the cliffs or, if you have 2 cars (and a friend!) continue up to Cuckmere visitor centre along the fabulous meanders of the Cuckmere river.
