There were lots of gaps along the Jurassic coast on the Isle of Purbeck I had not covered.  Studying the National trust Dorset Landmarks, Spyway leading down to Dancing Ledge looked like a good place for some seascape photography and a coastal walk.

OS Maps Dancing Ledge

Studying the footpaths around Dancing Ledge on OS Maps online I planned a good circular walk stopping off at a pub in Worth Matravers.

It started off a beautiful sunny January morning when I arrived at the national trust car park at Langton Matravers.  I not arrive as early as I would have liked, dawn had long passed.

Back Button Focus Infinity

Technically I was trying a new technique known as back button focus.  That is removing the auto focus function from taking the photo with the shutter button.  Watch this video for an in-depth explanation, it inspired me to change.

It basically means you focus completely separately from taking the picture and I was a convert. In Live view, you can zoom in on your focus point a 100% and then hit the back button focus, then you can forget about it.

With nothing closer than a couple of meters away I was also focusing on infinity.  For a great explanation of why and when to focus on infinity watch the following video.

Ok, lesson over now onto the walk down to Dancing Ledge.

Remote Release Dancing Ledge seascape Waves

Down at Dancing Ledge I wanted to catch a wave crashing into the rock face with some slight motion blur.  Ideally for this you want a shutter speed of 1/15 second.  Looking east from Dancing Ledge I managed to get my image.

With trying to catch motion within the seascape photo at a precise moment a remote shutter release is essential.  You will miss the moment with a 2 second timer.

Originally I was using a Wireless version of a remote release, but these are unreliable and dont always take the shot.  I switched to a wired version for these type of shots.

And here is another looking west.  Interesting it’s called Dancing Ledge due to when the tide bubbles over the ledge it looks like its dancing.

Seacombe Cliff , DLSR or Compact?

I had a good shoot along the Dancing ledge and practised back button focus and shooting with a remote release.  Time now for my walk up to Worth Matravers and along Seacombe Cliff.

I took the above shot of Seacombe Cliff with my canon compact camera and am impressed with the sharpness.  You would think it was taken with an expensive DLSR.  It makes me wonder is it really worth paying out for an expensive DLSR and carrying all that equipment when a compact can take such good landscape photos?  The main disadvantage with a compact there is not an effective way to use a polariser or other filters.

Gods Rays on Scratch Arse

A nice pint and rest in the pub at Worth Matravers called Square and compass.  And then a return to the car park at Spy Way over Scratch Arse.  It not show that on the map but that is what this area is called – Scratch Arse.

And Gods rays were bursting down from above out to sea.  Here I was exposing for the highlights and then raising the shadows later post processing in lightroom.

The official name for gods rays or sunbeams is crepuscular rays and another great shot caught with my compact, a keeper for sure.  A great day out around Dancing ledge walking and taking landscape photos with lessons learnt.