Due to work would be in Surrey for a few days so chose to combine this with a weekend stopover. First stop on the way was Holmbury Hill on the Surrey Hills for a sunrise.
Holmbury Hill Dawn Rush
Without a minute to spare arrived at the carpark on the Surrey Hills just before dawn. Then scrambled up the footpath to the viewpoint on Holmbury Hill. Not been here before, so was a first. Looking east was Leith hill in the distance.
Initially I was using my 70-200mm lens but the better composition included some foreground interest using the 24-70mm. The trees to the left and the recognisable monument to the right that is distinctly Holmbury Hill. To include all this though needed a 3 shot pano. Lots of clouds in the sky but with some breaks and some good colour contrast on the horizon.
Holmbury Hill Sunburst Sunrise
With a shorter focal length and nothing in the immediate foreground could get away with a aperture of F8. Then, just for a few seconds the sun burst through a crack in the clouds. I had the experience to switch the aperture to F16 to get the sunburst effect.
This was the shot I had wanted to capture on the Surrey Hills for sometime. Getting a good sunrise or sunset landscape photo on the Surrey hills has been proving quite challenging due to its geological orientation and the fact I am not here that often. Getting up at 4am has its rewards.
Morning Mist
I took a small walk around Holmbury Hill and stayed pass golden hour. There was some morning mist down in the weald and switched back to the 70-200mm to try and pick out some detail.
The rising morning sun was creating golden patches of spotlight on the green fields which gave a focal point within the morning mist and dark patches of woodland.
Little Switzerland
This area of the Surrey Hills is known as little Switzerland. It certainly is tranquil and a beautiful place to walk. As the day progresses though it becomes very popular with cyclists and mountain bikers. Other hills I wanted to check out were Pitch Hill and then Reynards hill both west of Holmbury Hill. Both hills had viewpoints but more directly south. The light was harsh now, a hot September day, nothing to photograph.
Winterfold Hill viewpoint
The last hill on my list was Winterfold Hill and this did have a good viewpoint west. Winterfold Hill could be a good location for a Surrey Hills sunset.
Realised I had been to Winterfold hill before many moons ago when I first got into landscape photography and hiking. Back then was using the AA walking guides rather than OS Maps online.