For the second day camping out at Manorfarm, I was intending to explore Harting down on the south downs in West Sussex. I wanted to attempt a sunrise and sunset shoot there after first scouting it out.

Harting Down Sunrise

Harting down on the south downs in West Sussex is managed by the National Trust. The immediate area near the carpark is popular with day trippers and picnics. You can park all day for £2 using the Ringo app on your mobile phone, which is easy to use once setup.

Further along is Beacon Hill and a very steep climb to the summit with amazing views. Arrived at Harting Down later than hoped, still about a 20 minute drive from Manorfarm. Dawn had already broken, there was still some golden light over the church steeple of South Harting and mist in the valley.

Unfortunately the best lighting conditions over the landscape do not last long after sunrise. By the time I reached the foot of Beacon hill on Harting down, the mist had cleared and was approaching the end of Golden Hour.

The plan was after a sunrise shoot using the best light would then go on a hike west as far as Didling hill then back through the cooler woodlands on the South Downs here. But not sleep well in tent last night, camping out takes some getting used too. I not sleep well in hotels either, at least with camping you are always sleeping inside the same tent, just takes some getting used to.

Harting Down Sunset

I returned that evening to Harting Down on the South Downs in West Sussex to attempt to capture a sunset. Sunsets are easier than sunrises and arrived within plenty of time.

I had a pre-visualised composition in mind, Wild Marjoram in the foreground, the church spire of South Harting in the midground and the south down hills and setting sun in the background.

Multiple Exposures

With today’s most expensive camera technology its not possible to capture the above photograph within a single exposure. There are two problems:

1. Depth of Field. from foreground to background and wanting to keep everything in focus.

2. Dynamic Range. The stops of light between the highlights and shadows is too great for the camera to capture in a single exposure.

To help solve the above problems I took 3 exposures one for each of the foreground, midground and background. Each exposed for the light in that area using exposure compensation and each focused on a focal point in that area. So for the foreground its was the wild Marjoram, the midground the church tower and the background the setting sun and hills.

Wind and Motion Blur

There was an associated problem, low light and a wind blowing creating motion blur on the Marjoram in the foreground. Had to push up the ISO for this shot to try and get a shutter speed high enough to compensate for the wind. Else you have to wait for a break in the wind while the light is changing rapid every minute. Not easy and very challenging creatively and technically. Of course you also have to be comfortable exposure blending post processing in Photoshop.

To check you have nailed the focus, you need to zoom in full magnification on the LCD screen on the back of the camera move around and check the focal point is in sharp focus.

A very nice evening spent on Harting Down capturing a sunset. Next stop a pub down in South Harting then return to my tent at Manorfarm.