Managed to drag myself out of bed at 4am for a dawn shoot over the Cuckmere valley in east Sussex from the vantage point of High and Over on the South Downs.
Early to Bed
The key to getting up early is going to bed early and getting enough sleep. I tried a few days earlier with better conditions but not sleep well and could not overcome the will to stay in bed. It was a cold morning too so helps if the heating is on. Also to avoid any anxiety of an alarm going off set to low volume and gently increasing.
Morning Mist
A dawn shoot of Cuckmere valley from High and Over has been on my todo list for a while. Morning mist was an essential ingredient. At this time of year the nights need to be cool calm and clear and it helps with all that water down in the valley of the river leading to the coast and Cuckmere haven.
Driving out of town in the pitch black, there was no mist and I was wondering if it had been worth getting out of bed for. But you really don’t know until you get there, you only fail if you quit. Any excuse, the idea of crawling back into bed was quite appealing.
High and Over
Free parking at High and Over just above the White Horse calved out of the hillside that you cant see looking down at this angle over the Cuckmere valley.
The dawn view of Cuckmere valley is well worth getting out of bed for. The orange glow of the sunrise behind the distinctive hills of the south downs. The morning mist clinging to the flood plains and the winding river is unmistakably the Cuckmere valley.
Still there is a lot of contrast in the image between the highlights and shadows. No immediate foreground to include so used F/8 focused on the background contrast between the orange sky and dark brow of the south downs hills.
Cuckmere Red Dawn
Just sat there on the hillside observing the spectacle and waiting for the sun to rise over the hills. The clouds caught fire and glowed bright red. These spectacles can last at most a few minutes so you have to be ready.
To capture the red clouds had to change the composition. Dont feel the above composition is so well balanced. Due to the hills blocking the rising sun the shadows here are very dark. Man, I love the dawn, I had this beauty spot in east Sussex all to myself. The dawn of a new day captured on camera, the morning was all mine.
Cuckmere Sunrise
About 15 to 20 minutes after actual sunrise, the bright spot of the sun peeked over the brow of the south down hills in the background, lighting up the Cuckmere valley below.
Stopping down the aperture to F/16 managed to capture a sunburst effect, although this is much better defined with a more suitable lens like a prime. A few minutes later then it was too bright to shoot into the sun, time to change composition.
Cuckmere Haven
From more or less the same position perched up on top of High and Over captured the evaporating mist down to Cuckmere Haven and the coast.
We were now in the golden hour of the morning. This area of east Sussex has many landmarks within walking distance including the seven sisters and Birling gap.
White Horse Golden Hour
Just under my feet on High and Over was the white horse of Litlington. The plan was now to hike down to the Cuckmere valley and attempt to capture the light of the morning golden hour highlighting the chalk cutout of the white horse.
On the hike down high and over, stopping to capture any compositions of the Cuckmere valley during the light of the golden hour. The beautiful morning mist was clearing as the sun rose higher in the sky.
The mist was still thick behind the hills where the rising sun had not yet reached. Time to switch to telephoto and capture the composition within the composition compressing the layers.
Down on the flood plains of the Cuckmere valley could not really get a good composition of the white horse of Litlington. The horse is dirty, more yellow than white. A couple of smooching swans made some good foreground interest.
Hike along the Cuckmere River
There is a lot of wildlife down along the Cuckmere river, mostly birds, Geese etc. Some grazing cattle too, cows and lots of faeces on the ground.
With the Golden hour over, its good to use the rest of the morning for some exercise hiking and maybe scout out any new compositions.
With the sun high in the sky now, lots of light, switch to handheld, open my aperture to F/8, switch on image stabilisation and attached a polariser. If the shutter speed becomes too low will bump up the ISO.
Followed the river down to the A259 near the entrance to the Seven Sisters country park. Then followed the footpath back along the other side of the Cuckmere river towards High and Over.
Very pleasant sunny morning, good to be outside. The ascent back up High and Over is steep and very demanding. Good day out photographing the Cuckmere Valley.