Scouting the Firle Estate

This morning decided on a scouting trip around the Firle estate at the foot of the South Downs in East Sussex. Parking up at Berwick covered a lot of ground using a mountain bike reaching as far as Firle Bostal in the west and Lullington Church in the east via Alfriston.

Mountain Bike Scouting

Not really have a composition in mind, consequently not rise early for a sunrise dawn shoot. Recently I had visited Berwick and Alciston and knew the paths were good for mountain biking, no stiles and gates basically.

When scouting a new area for compositions given suitable terrain, much more ground can be covered on a mountain bike. Recently had taken my mountain bike out of storage and in for a service, opening up more options to get outside.

Round Hill Ground Up

I knew I could park up for free near Berwick Church and this is where I began my trip. From the vantage point of Ashdown Forest and Mount Caburn the hills of the South Downs around Firle looked spectacular with the low morning light catching the escarpment.

But at ground level near Round Hill at the foot of the South Downs those same views did not present themselves. For great views visitors usually head up to Firle Beacon rather than scouting at ground level.

Firle Tower

Cycling along in the morning sunshine a composition that opened up was that of Firle Tower with Mount Caburn in the background.

I not even know Firle tower existed before observing it and it makes a great focal point. Problem with this type of composition is deciding what to include and exclude. While at the same time not reducing the tower to an insignificant dot in the frame.

Firle tower can be visited up close but was closed due to Covid, this restricted possible compositions. In situations like these a good telephoto lens is a must. The morning sky was featureless and needed to include only enough to add some negative space above the tower. I was handholding the camera on auto focus and F/8 quite a few shots came out blurry.

Checking an image for Focus

Checking the image for sharpness and focus is something I always do now after taking the shot, after those blurry shots at Cuckmere Valley. Viewing the image at 100% on the cameras LCD screen helps also check the composition for things like balance and visual weight. You can clearly see all the dominant elements contributing to the composition. My eyesight is not what it once was. When checking the image on the back of the cameras LCD screen it helps wearing my glasses. But when needing to put eye against eyepiece or loupe then need to remove glasses.

Charleston Farmhouse

Another point of interest along this route is Charleston Farmhouse. Took a little detour to visit this location. Charleston Farmhouse was a meeting place for artists writers etc known as the Bloomsbury Group.

Unfortunately again due to Covid the grounds, house and nearby cafe were not open due to Covid so possible compositions of this beautiful farmhouse and gardens were restricted.

Comp Lane

Heading back towards Berwick I carried along the track known as Comp Lane. This use to be the old coach road into Alfriston.

On the outskirts of Alfriston a place called Winton there were some dramatic views of Comp Barn and your typical south downs countryside.

Lullington Church

Alfriston is a popular village with visitors and tourists, today was no exception with many cyclists taking a break. On OS Maps online I had noticed a interesting church on its own outside Alfriston a place known as Lullington Church.

Lullington church on the south downs in east Sussex claims to be one of the smallest in England. Being out of way and out of sight it was very peaceful with very few visitors. Took a well deserved break here in the grounds.

The views from Lullington of the south downs were inspiring. Problem is no foreground interest and a wide angle frame. This will then include lots of dead space in the foreground that will then have to be cropped out post processing. Alternatively can zoom into the detail in the midground and take a panoramic. Still the crops in the foreground provided some leading lines down into the village of Alfriston. Looking west with a sunset its this location that could be worth returning to.

Back to Berwick

So a good scout along the foot of the south downs on a mountain bike from Firle to Lullington. Cycled over 20 kilometres covering 3 times as much space than hiking alone. Some hills were difficult especially with a heavy backpack and needed to get off bike and walk a few times. In these situations a hybrid e-bike would be advantageous.

Location scouting is an important preparation step in any subsequent successful landscape photography shoot. Scouting does not so much depend on quality of light or time of day and so is good for just getting outside and for excising. But I would take your camera still.