During August 2021 covered quite a bit of ground and discovered some new locations throughout the south east counties of England. What follows is a compilation of the best landscape photography through the month of August 2021.
Newlands Corner Surrey Hills
The first outing of August was a return to Newlands Corner on the Surrey Hills. It was pouring down with rain when I arrived at Newlands Corner car park, which is now free. Stayed in the car and had a snooze.
On occasion the pouring rain would stop and then I would pop out with my camera and 70-200 telephoto lens and take a few shots. If you were lucky the sun would break through the clouds for a fleeting moment. Then the rain died down a bit so took a hike to St Martha’s Hill and then onto Pewley Down. Unfortunately failed to get a good shot at these two locations and the rain returned with a vengeance. Tested out my waterproof gear.
Stone Circle, Hascombe Hill
I stayed in a hotel over night near the Surrey Hills. The next morning took a visit to Hascombe hill the target being a stone circle listed on google maps. I hiked first to the top of Hascombe hill to check out the hill fort and and views that might reveal themselves. Unfortunately as is common on the Surrey Hills good viewpoint can be hard to find. Not surprising as the Surrey Hills is the most wooded in England.
Managed to find the stone circle, thought might look quite dramatic with the dark clouds in the sky. Not easy to find a composition though, had to use the wide angle lens 16-35mm to fit the stone circle into the frame. A local told me the stone circle is a Victorian folly. Very little information about it on the internet!
Lancing Sunrise, Poppy Field
Poppies in August seemed late. But some recent posts in the Facebook Hidden Sussex group suggested otherwise, some late bloomers. So an early morning dawn return to west Sussex on the south downs this time near Lancing. In the dark walked right past the poppy field and made my way to the top of Steep Down for a moody sunrise shot.
From steep down hiked to Cissbury ring. By the time I reached Cissbury ring, thick clouds were overhead and thought the light was over. Took a different walk back to Lancing, hoping to catch a glimpse of this elusive poppy field that so far had missed.
And there it was the poppy field, as clear as day in the distance, now it was day. Right where I had started. I scouted the poppy field, there were a few small paths into the field where there were some good compositions. The cumulus clouds add interest to the sky and provide a patchwork of shadows on the ground. The landscape composition worked for a midday shot. Could be the landscape photo of August!
August Heather, Ashdown Forest
What typifies August is a good shot of purple heather. In east Sussex one of the best places for heather on the heath would be Ashdown Forest. Did a bit of research on google and narrowing Ashdown forest to Old Lodge nature reserve for the best chance of catching some heather on the heath.
Was not familiar with this part of Ashdown Forest but followed the road down to Old Lodge and then the footpaths through woodland following the stream to the A22. On the hike back took a different path across the heath and found the heather. The above composition was just beside the carpark I started off. Now I know. Could have done with some sunlight. The location looks like could be good for a sunset. I experimented with the hyperfocal distance rather than focus stacking. Depth of field always and issue when have some flora in the foreground and want front to back focus.
There is only a week or two to capture the purple heather at its best that colour compliments the green. The best time being mid August. I was already noticing the end of summer. Wilting and dead flowers, ferns even some variations of heather.
Chanctonbury to Chantry Hill, South Downs
Got up early last weekend of August for a dawn shoot from Chanctonbury hill on the South Downs in West Sussex. When I arrived at Chanctonbury hill it was thick fog and quite a hike and climb from the carpark at the foot of the hill. Generally for a dawn shoot its good to scout the location beforehand and have the weather forecast strongly in your favour, especially when it includes a long drive. The fog was so thick I not get my camera out, shot a few with my mobile just for the record which you can see here.
Being in the area of the West Sussex South Downs was not going to waste the drive and decided to scout nearby Chantry Hill near Storrington. Parked up at Kithurst hill and began my scout from there.
Not long into the hike came across a large area of wild flowers. By now the fog had cleared and the clouds were breaking up. Now we were getting some splashes of blue and shafts of sunlight. Had to get the camera out, wide angle lens 16-35mm. Quite a breeze, requiring a faster shutter speed to avoid motion blur. Front to back focus was difficult, still experimenting with the hyperfocal distance rather than focus stacking.
Continued the scout towards Chantry Hill and was greeted with fantastic views east. Even an old log and some wild marjoram in the foreground. The purple of the marjoram gives a nice splash of complimentary colour with all the green. Being close to midday now, the light is a bit harsh but the location and composition would be great for a sunrise.
Greatstone Beach, Kent
August bank holiday Monday and its going to be a grey day. Needed to get out any case so decided on a return to the coast. This time I would scout the coastline from Dungeness to Saint Mary’s bay starting at Greatstone beach. Never been to Greatstone beach before so enjoy scouting and exploring a new location.
On the drive along the seafront noticed an old wreck on the beach and thought with the moody skies would make a great subject and focal point. Took my time, despite the drizzle and for me, the best composition was with the 70-200mm telephoto lens at F4 to get some Bokeh on the background coastline of Kent.
Further down the coast discovered Kent’s best kept secret, Greatstone Beach! Lovely sandy beach with sand dunes, much like Camber Sands but without the crowds. Greatstone beach would be good for a sunrise.
End of August
The month of August 2021 had been mostly cool, no heatwaves. This year had managed to get out a lot more than August 2020. Glad summer is coming to an end, not a fan of the heat. Roll on September and autumn.