April 2021 comes to an end. Time for another landscape photography round up of the month of April. April 2021 has been one of the driest on record, no April showers. Very sunny dry days but cold nights and frosty mornings.

Beachy Head Sunset

The first shoot of April was a sunset from Beachy Head on the East Sussex south downs. For this time of month some of the best sunset views are from the car parks along beachy head road.

What I learn from this shoot is if there is a strong wind a good tripod is not enough to eliminate camera shake. Need a faster shutter speed. Also watch out for electric fences.

Woods Corner to Dallington

With April comes spring time and the woodlands come alive with anemones, bluebells and wild garlic. So now wanted to scout out some high weald woodland.

Had to get down in the dirt to get the above shot of a budding bluebell. peak time was still a few weeks away, maybe end of April, but there were signs. Sunrise was now too early, so just headed out when I was good and ready. Although misty mornings are best for woodland photography.

Dallington Forest

I returned to Dallington Forest a week later as there was an area I had not covered. Unfortunately like a lot of the meagre woodland that remains in England much of it is private. So not much too see.

Except for a herd of wild deer who must know its private, free from humans. Telephoto lenses come in handy for these situations, although starting to want the Canon 100-400mm. Its still good to scout these areas as can eliminate them.

Bo Peep Paragliding

I was off work for the first two weeks of April. But not really use the time off that constructively, except for being very lazy. We were still in a partial lockdown due to Covid. I did book a trip up to the Shropshire Hills but got double booked so was cancelled. Towards the end, met a friend one fine sunny morning as he was paragliding off Bo Peep.

I tried to photograph him taking off flying etc. Requires completely different settings as got a constant moving target so actually used Servo mode focusing. Well out of my comfort zone but enjoyed it.

Beckley Woods Mirrorless Fuji XT4

The same friend lent me his mirrorless Fuji XT4. So I took it for a spin one morning in Beckley Woods on the high weald. The wood anemones are particularly good in Beckley Woods.

Its a lovely lightweight camera, was just handholding no tripod. One big advantage with the electronic viewfinder is playback in bright light. But not rushing to replace my Canon 5D mk4 with a mirrorless. But the future is mirrorless, its in mirrorless cameras that further advancements are taking place like electronic shutters, IBIS etc, all good stuff.

Ashdown Forest Waterfall

Was visiting some relatives and decided to kill two birds with one stone. On the drive back stopped off in Ashdown forest to find the elusive waterfall that exists there. Found it, but not much water flowing with the lack of April showers and difficult to photograph.

Stuck around in Ashdown forest for the golden hour and took a pano or a telephoto wide angle of the evening sunlight hitting the trees.

Should have stuck around for sunset on the drive home it was pretty dramatic.

Cuckmere River Sunset

A problem I am having is new locations to photograph. Sunrise is now too early so looking more towards sunsets. Problem with sunsets is lots more people around in the evening than the early morning. Still, on Hidden Sussex Facebook group, someone posted a sunset over the Cuckmere river and thought I would like to try that one myself.

I love the meandering shape of the Cuckmere river in the midground. No foreground interest here so shooting with the 24-70mm lens. Lots of contrast so bracketing 3 shots then blended in Lightroom with HDR merge. Probably my best shot of April 2021. Lucky for the clouds to pass over adding interest to the sky.

Telham Hill April Woodland

To the day, one year on in April I return to high weald woodland on Telham hill to check out the bluebells and wild garlic. The wild garlic was only just beginning to bud so this is going to peak sometime in May. But the bluebells were out. Probably a more typical April scene…

This ancient woodland on the high weald is enchanting, not many people come here which suits me just fine. Long may it stay that way.

Camber Sands Moonrise Sunset

That time of the month again, full moon rise around sunset. April it was a supermoon. Decided on a return to Camber Sands to try and capture the spectacle from in among the sand dunes.

Was rushing around, first trying to find a good composition. Second there was a sunset to the west and a moonrise to the east. To get any foreground interest with the moon, renders the moon small. Was swapping lenses in the sand which is not ideal.

Finally the moon was too high and bright in the sky, so turned around to photograph the colourful skies after the sun had set. Lots of contrast so had to bracket again then merge HDR in Lightroom. In hindsight think the shot would have been lot more interesting had I taken a panoramic including what was left to the frame.

The end of April

Thats it for April landscape photography. Couple of good shots in the bag. Its all about being in the right place at the right time, the more this comes together the better the shots, which require planning. Due to the weather during April should be good for a couple of weeks into May for more bluebell, wild garlic photography and hopefully get up for some misty mornings.