Beginning of November took a break from work and went on a road trip to the Isle of Wight in the south east of England. What follows is a compilation of the main highlights and photos of my stormy road trip around the Isle of Wight.
Road Trip Isle of Wight
Took a week off work midway through my current contract. Wanted to go on a road trip with a change of scenery but not too far away. Had recently done some road trips to Wiltshire, Somerset and Devon. Racking my brains where to go then came up with the Isle of Wight. Been meaning to visit the Isle of Wight now for a few years now its time had come.
Lymington to Yarmouth
Only made the decision to visit the Isle of Wight a day before leaving so not have much time to plan. Would spend 5 days in total including travelling to and back from the Isle of Wight. Plan was to start with a ferry crossing from Lymington in the new forest to Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight.
On the ferry crossing from Lymington to Yarmouth there are some nice views of the coast and the Needles. On deck got out the 100-400mm lens and the 1.4 extender to zoom in on the interest.
Compton Bay
For the first two nights on the Isle of Wight the base was in the south west of the island. Right at the foot of Tennyson Down. Could not find a suitable hotel in the area so was staying in an farmhouse annex courtesy of Airbnb. Arriving in the Isle of Wight the weather was changing to stormy. In these conditions cover more distance in the car scouting out locations then small hikes from the carpark.
The first evening scouted out locations from Tennyson Down to Blackgang. Somewhere in the middle is Compton Bay. This area is well know for fossil hunting during low tide. This evening though with the stormy weather it was popular with surfers which made a good focal point and subject within the stormy skies and seas.
Freshwater Bay Sunrise
The first night in the Isle of Wight and then was a bad storm. Had some doubts if had made right decision to come. But storms can provide some great lighting conditions if there are breaks in the clouds. You then just have the wind and rain to contend with.
So it was the next morning before sunrise at Freshwater Bay. Ahead the sun would hopefully through Stag rock. Conditions were hard, driving wind and rain. But a nearby hotel provided some much needed shelter from both the wind a rain. There was some breaks in the clouds and managed to capture some colourful dramatic moody dawn skies over Freshwater Bay as the sun rose to the east.
Same Viewpoint
Two conflicting ideas in my head was a long exposure of the sea and fast exposure to capture some flying seagulls overhead. Its best to stick with the same composition frame or viewpoint during such conditions then just change settings as needed. Later you can attempt to blend multiple exposures post processing.
St Catherine’s Oratory
After the best of the dawn light was over at Freshwater bay carried onto St Catherines Oratory which had scouted out the location of the evening before.
Known as the pepperpot St Catherines Oratory makes a great subject high on the St Catherines Hill. The stormy weather really kicked off up on the hill, but there were fleeting moments of great light as the sun broke through the clouds. Fast shutter speed was the key to getting a sharp image. Finally the rain came down so hard lucky could take shelter inside the pepperpot,
Ventnor Down
After a mornings storm photography headed into Ventnor for some breakfast. After which drove up to Ventnor Down to explore the location. Ventnor down is the highest point on the Isle of Wight so should command some good views.
on top of Ventnor Down was some old derelict WW2 buildings that provided some good foreground interest. These same buildings would provide good shelter if it got too stormy. There was some faint rainbows, birds flying overhead but capturing all the elements in the same composition requires staying put and patience. When scouting a new location those traits are lacking. In calmer conditions Ventnor downs would be great for some long hikes.
The Needles Stormy Sunset
After the scout of Ventnor Down headed back to my Airbnb to rest up before heading out that evening for a sunset shoot at The Needles a famous landmark on the Isle of Wight. Remember seeing the needles from a dawn shoot at Swanage in Dorset.
The wind and rain was extreme and nearly turned back. But there was breaks in the clouds and light so persevered. Used the tripod for support while hand holding. Even on continuous shooting, the widest aperture focused on infinity, a high ISO, image stabilisation switched on you still need to check the shutter speed. In storm conditions a fast shutter speed is essential for a sharp image.
At sunset and storm clouds the light is low. When the sun broke through it was suddenly high. Probably best to be in aperture priority mode to handle the dynamic range of light. So many images from the The Needles on the Isle of Wight were blurry, simply not a fast enough shutter speed. Need to check, review some images. Amazing experience, learnt a lot.
Tennyson Down Sunrise
My final morning on the south west side of the Isle of Wight in the Airbnb had to do a dawn shoot from Tennyson Down. On top of the down is the Tennyson monument and the plan was to include that in any composition to provide an anchor or focal point. Problem was not know where this would be possible would have to try my luck when the best light does not last long.
Wasted a lot of time trying to figure out a composition that included the Tennyson monument. Further back towards the Needles seemed to work better. Problem was the best light was too far to the south east or right of the frame. Different time of year could work better along with multiple visits.
Bembridge Windmill
For the last two days of the road trip through the Isle of Wight would be staying in Sandown and exploring the south east side of the island. Day 3 of the road trip with all the sunrise shoots out in the fresh air all day was feeling tired and ratty. So took a break in the hotel that night and rested up. When you feel exhausted important to take a break and reenergise and remove any pressure to create content.
The following morning was grey rainy and overcast, no real breaks in the clouds. Used this time to explore new locations and scout them out. So it was with Bembridge Windmill, a windmill always making a good subject. Some distracting elements in the foreground that needed to eliminate that restricted compositions. Nearby to Brembridge windmill is an ancient forest called Steyne Wood. In Steyne Wood there are red squirrels. Never seen a red squirrel let alone photograph one, plan was to go into Steyne wood with the telephoto and try to capture one of the elusive creatures. But a nearby pub, hearty meal and couple of pints of ale put an end to that plan.
Culver Down Sandown Sunset
Having scouted out Culver down in the morning plan was to return to Culver down for a sunset over Sandown in the distance. Had a sleep in the car and looked like a few breaks in the storm clouds for the sun to provide some lighting.
With the stormy conditions long exposures, panos were not really working. Just a single exposure on a fairly slow shutter speed worked best.
Bembridge Pier Dawn
The last morning in the Isle of Wight was a dawn shoot from Bembridge beach looking south east and including the pier and lifeboat house as a strong subject. Unfortunately there were low clouds hugging the horizon so missed the best of the sunrise. Its important to check the weather about 50 miles further out for a sunrise or sunset rather than directly over the location shooting from.
The storm was clearing but the early morning wind was still strong. It was high tide with the tide still coming in so needed to be careful of any rogue waves. Decided on a long exposure to smooth the sea and blur the flimsy clouds moving across the sunrise sky.
Sandown Beach
The ferry back to the mainland from the Isle of Wight was at midday, this gave me a couple of hours to scout out a few more locations on the way back. The morning I leave the Isle of Wight we have some nice weather, the calm after the storm. Could not resist a nice walk along Sandown Beach with the camera.
Beautiful morning on Sandown Beach, the unspoilt sand, the seashell and the gentle waves really set the scene. Its more this weather want to go for long walks rather than just working a single viewpoint.
Brading Down
On the drive back to the ferry from Sandown stopped off at Brading Down. Amazing views from Brading down over the Isle of Wight. Without some foreground interest though, those amazing views do not often translate into good landscape photographs.
A park bench can often help to include a foreground subject or anchor point. Its important to not have to much dead space in the bottom third of the frame with these type of compositions. Panos can often be a solution providing a telephoto wide angle, when the interest and detail is in the mid to back ground. Beautiful bright late morning walk over Brading down, maybe should have come here for my last dawn shoot on the Isle of Wight.
Fishbourne to Portsmouth
Ferry back to the mainland from Fishbourne to Portsmouth. There was some nice early afternoon light so up on the main deck with the 100-400mm lens picking out detail in the Portsmouth cityscape and the south Downs in the background.
Think that is Butser hill in the background, the highest hill on the south downs. Using a very fast shutter speed on the ferry crossing handholding at 400mm. Talking 1/1000 to 1/2000 secs consequently all the images are sharp. 1/2000 though is a bit excessive could have closed down the aperture maybe to F/8 and reduced the ISO to base.
Isle of Wight Summary
Great road trip through the Isle of Wight. The storm chasing really provided some great light and exhilarating experiences. Was a great change of scenery and not too far away if you live in the south east of England. Lots of parking available at most sites if not free then all used the PayByPhone app. Worth downloading this to your phone and getting setup. Country pubs were great for meals and drinks, great quality food. Lots of new dramatic locations to scout and photograph and not too far away from each other. Highly recommend a photo road trip to the Isle of Wight. If your planning your first visit then hope my overview helps you. Have you been to the Isle of Wight? Any locations you think I have missed? Would love to hear in the comments below…
Check out the Isle of Wight Landscape Photography gallery.