I made a resolution to photograph more new places this year. Whilst it is often necessary to revisit places to get the best from them, I felt I needed to add locations to the list to expand my portfolio. And also because it’s great simply visiting new places. For my first trip I went to Portland Bill to shoot the lighthouse.
Lighthouses are, by the nature of their positioning, tricky to photograph. Normally on rocky outcrops / promontories, there is a risk of images being unbalanced (not to mention the photographer!) with a land-heavy side leading the eye into open water and away. The tides also need to coincide with dawn/dusk lighting which is in turn heavily affected in its direction by the time of year. I was pleased with the images I got - the dusk one above with the setting sun glowing brightly behind the headland keeping the eye in the lighthouse zone (the eye is drawn to the brightest part of the image). I also scouted other angles and viewpoints such as the one below for a return in the future with different light and tides.
An angle that needs better conditions - of both water and light, but one to return to.
It has not been hard to think of locations - I have a list of many many places to visit. My second destination was Hengistbury Head and the famous Mudeford spit / beachhuts. I had somehow never been here but off season in the winter seems the perfect time. A glorious sunny afternoon led me dithering my way to the huts as I shot a lot of crashing sea images with different compositions and exposure times.
Hengistbury beach
When I go somewhere new, coming away with good shots is a bonus and portfolio shots is a complete result. I spent a couple of hours walking the length of the huts on both sides. The seaward side images wait to be shot properly on another day - dawn in early summer I suspect with (hopefully) low warm light on the huts and dunes. However the nature of the location is such that the harbour side is sheltered and on this day, with no wind I got super lucky. The sun was unhindered to its lowest point giving golden warmth to the scene.
Mudeford beach huts shot from the harbour side
However my favourite shots were taken after the sun had set. Light reflected off the clear blue sky, the water was calm and the reflections perfect.
Mudeford Beach Huts at dusk
I’m not sure exactly when dusk ends and might begins but it was around the time of this last shot. It was taken 45 mins after sunset and, having shot this, it was on with the headtorch for the walk back to the carpark.
Mudeford Beach huts after dusk
My last location this month was Shaftesbury, made TV famous by a 1970s Hovis bread advert shot on Gold Hill. I have wanted some good traditional Wessex architecture in my portfolio (who doesn’t?) so this seemed a good choice. I could see from the map that the road ran South West so an early afternoon low winter sun should rake up the street. Which it did. A parked car slightly hindered my composition but I think if I lived on the hill I would probably do worse than leave a car outside.
Gold Hill aka Hovis Hill. On a greetings card soon?