Despite still being in the grips of the Covid pandemic and lockdown, February was a good month for getting out and taking some landscape photos around East Sussex. What follows is a compilation of locations visited during February and the best landscape photos taken.

Jevington South Downs Sunset

At the beginning of February completed the holy trinity of lenses and purchased the Canon EF 24-70mm F4. Took it out for a test shoot one Friday afternoon up on the South Downs near Jevington in East Sussex.

That evening on the south downs near Jevington the conditions and light were very good. Could not stop taking good photos with the new 24-70mm lens.

Everyway I looked there was fantastic light with the moody skies and great compositions to capture. After slaving away at a computer all week and being stuck indoors it was so refreshing to get outside.

Hastings Snowstorm

Primarily to get some exercise and to stay within the local area took a walk one Sunday morning along Hastings seafront taking along just my compact camera.

During my walk along the seafront was able to capture the beginning of a February snowstorm, that would last all week.

Things froze up bad during the week and was stuck indoors. There was some great light during the freeze over and snow and I was unable to get outside and capture some of those winter snow scenes.

Birling Gap Sunrise

The plan this morning was to check out the sunrise from Birling Gap and maybe walk the beach towards Beachy Head and catch the sun rising behind the lighthouse.

At low tide the beach from Birling Gap to the Lighthouse at Beachy Head is very rocky and difficult to walk, so I only got so far before the sun rose.

Plan B was to capture the golden hour morning sunlight catching the white chalk cliffs of the Seven Sisters and Seaford Head and Hope Gap in the distance beyond Cuckmere Haven.

Pevensey Castle

On return from a sunrise shoot at Birling Gap, stopped off at Pevensey to check the castle out and any possible compositions. The ancient castle ruins at Pevensey are magnificent but compositions that include the castle are difficult to find.

In the distance are the hills of the south downs with snow on the ground. Decided a sunrise could be good from the grounds of Pevensey castle with a more dramatic sky.

Eastbourne Pier

Had to take the car to a garage in Eastbourne so decided to take a walk along the beach towards the pier while you wait. Been experimenting and learning about filming with my compact camera. Check out my YouTube channel for some East Sussex beach walks.

Was setting up the compact camera on a mini tripod and taking some b-roll. If the composition was good would take a still too as with the moody black and white image of Eastbourne Pier.

Beachy Head Lighthouse Dawn

The plan was to photograph beachy head lighthouse from atop the cliffs with the sun rising behind and the tide out. As mid February now the days are starting to get longer and sunrise is almost an hour earlier than December, before 7am, so early to rise. Parked up at Shooters Bottom and rushed to get to the end of the cliff.

Lucky not have to look far for a good vantage point and composition of the lighthouse below. Glad I got out of bed for this one, everything went to plan with a big bonus. The sky was a vivid red and orange due to Sahara dust in the atmosphere. The wind was blowing strong on top of the seven sisters cliffs, low light requires a long exposure without bumping up your ISO to high. But my Benro tripod is very strong and sturdy and no noticeable motion blur in the image.

This is one of those shots you get maybe once every 1 or 2 years. Changing to a vertical orientation with the affixed L bracket has also greatly enhanced the composition. Also used a remote shutter release to capture the moment the lighthouse sent out a pulse of light which ceases once the sun rises.

Unfortunately as the sun rose above the horizon I had moved to an inferior position and right at that time my memory card was full! Consequently lost a couple of valuable minutes which are critical at this time of day. Still managed a few more compositions further down towards Birling Gap.

Birling Gap Sunset Moonrise

The last weekend of February included a full snow moon. In the evening it would rise around sunset and the moon would set around sunrise. Friday after work headed down to Birling Gap to view and hopefully capture this spectacle. I more wanted to get to Birling Gap that morning but being a workday could not rise early enough.

Not really get any good shots of the sun setting or the moon rising. Lots of people on the beach at Birling Gap around sunrise so compositions were difficult to exclude them. Got some good long exposures and again the better shot was in a vertical orientation.

Stayed on the beach to capture the after glow and blue hour. Once the sun had set everyone leaves the beach and have it almost to yourself. The plan was to return in the morning to capture that full snow moon setting in the east.

Birling Gap Sunrise Moonset

Was hoping to capture the full snow moon setting over the seven sisters, just as the sun was rising and highlighting the chalk cliff face. Problem with the moon it not gradually move across the sky each day like the sun, it jumps around. So the moon not quite set where I was hoping unlike the day before had I managed to get out of bed.

Capturing the full moon in all its glory is hard. Especially if you want to include some detail on the ground like the cliffs and beach. If the sky is too dark then the moon will just be a bright light with no detail.

Using more zoom can see more detail in the moon while still capturing some earthly context as to the location. A beautiful magical morning capturing the full February moon setting over the iconic coastline of East Sussex.

February Wrap Up

That is it for landscape or more seascape photography during February mostly along the East Sussex coast. With March winter transitions into spring and hoping to venture inland into the high weald and do some woodland photography. But in hindsight for some world class iconic seascape photography the East Sussex coastline is up there in the top tier.

Check out the East Sussex Landscape Photo Galleries where all these images can be downloaded in high resolution.