Sunset by the Sea

Hengistbury Head is in Dorset and when a photography friend suggested we should go there for sunset I jumped at the chance. Not because I knew anything about the location at all (I’d never heard of it!) but because I love to explore new places and the discovery of a photographic gem is so exciting!

We arrived at about 5 and at this time there were spaces in the car park which is not cheap but we wanted to stay until after it was getting dark and didn’t want to walk for an hour along the beach in these conditions! There are various routes to the beach huts, which were the highlight of my trip but we went along the edge of the harbour on the way towards the spit of land where the beach huts are.

The light was fantastic and the sea a glorious back drop to the plant life that was making such beautiful shapes and patterns. I used a bit of slow shutter speed and, yes, the third image is a multiple exposure - this was out of camera though, on my return. I know you wouldn’t expect any less creativity!

Our journey took us through a bit of woodland where the light was making extremely pretty patterns on the trees. For once I forwent my urge to multiple expose and had fun taking some images to try to highlight the light. In fact it would great to return just to concentrate more on this part of the day but the sun was setting and we wanted to make sure we didn’t lose any time at our final destination.

Once through the copse of trees we continued on but looking back we could see the golden light which was starting to prevail in the West. Golden in the extreme the light really highlighted the detail in the landscape or seascape - is there a word for when there is both?? Anyway, it reminded me of a phrase that I always try to keep in the forefront of my mind when out with my camera, especially in a new place - ‘Look back’ This simple action has produced many images which I love, and yet somehow it still sometimes gets forgotten.

Once down on the beach the pink East was all soft and beautiful and you could even see the needles just off the coast of the Isle of Wight - you can see them in the first image below. We spent some time here with some slower shutter speeds and tripods out. The bird shots were both complete accidents with the settings - when I took the geese I was still on a multiple exposure setting and the sanderlings still the slower shutter speed of the wave! Just goes to show you should just press the shutter anyway!

I am not a fan of the tripod, I’m not really sure why as I really like the effects of a long exposure image. Maybe because it takes away from the contact between me and my camera….either way I had carried it all that way and so this evening I was going to use it - the last image is using the tripod which, to be fair, I am really pleased with.

The beach huts then came back into focus - as did the multiple exposure. I would thoroughly recommend taking a trip to Hengistbury Head if you have never been. It has a feast of different landscapes and details which mean photographers of any genre will have fun - and those who enjoy variety will be delighted! I will certainly be looking to go back as there is much more to explore.