Light, Colour, and the Fight to Remember

June came in hot this year — sunshine from the first week, long golden evenings, and bold flashes of colour across the Sussex hills. The countryside felt alive and defiant, with poppy fields in full bloom and coastal ruins standing proud under summer skies. This month I focused on moments of stillness and motion — wind-blown wildflowers, early dawn reflections, and the shifting light over landscapes I’ve walked many times before. From Bodiam at first light to sunset above Kingston Ridge, June brought some of my favourite scenes of the year so far — and reminded me why these places matter.

Poppies, Sainfoin, and the Dance of Summer Light

June brought the South Downs into full colour, starting with a vibrant display of poppies along the slopes between Woodingdean and Ovingdean. Caught in bright midday light with rolling cumulus clouds above, the fields came alive on video — the wind moving through the petals in rhythmic waves. While golden hour often gets the praise, I’ve found that strong white light combined with cloud shadow can bring even more drama and depth, especially for moving footage. The wind added its own choreography.

Photographing poppies, though, comes with a twist — they tend to face the morning sun. This means the best flower-facing angles don’t always align with the most scenic backdrop. In my case, the downs and coastline often sat behind me while the poppies looked the other way. It’s a trade-off: shoot the flowers head-on with less dramatic scenery, or frame the grander view from behind and lose the blooms’ expression. Either way, nature sets the rules — not the composition.

Further along, a second wildflower wave emerged lower down the slope — likely sainfoin — blanketing the fields in pink. Unlike the poppies, these formed tighter clusters and stood taller above the grass, thriving in the chalky soil.

It’s part of what makes this location special: the wildflowers change each summer, offering something new to photograph, whether you’re chasing colour, pollinators, or just the rhythm of the wind across the hills.

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South Heighton Poppy Sunset

Facebook groups and other social media platforms continue to be excellent virtual scouts. One location that kept popping up was a poppy field near South Heighton, just outside Newhaven, nestled beside the South Downs. So on a June afternoon, I decided to go and check out this small patch of the downs — an area I hadn’t walked before. A few locals mentioned the poppies had first appeared around mid-May and were now slightly past their peak — I’d missed it by about a week. Apparently, the farmer had left the field untouched this year, allowing the dormant seeds to awaken naturally.

The poppies here are scattered across several fields stretching toward Snap Hill and Fore Hill. These higher slopes offered far better compositions, both for the flower foregrounds and the sweeping views toward Kingston Ridge — where the sun was also due to set. It turned out to be a rewarding walk, even if the bloom was fading.

Shooting conditions were far from ideal. Strong winds made the sunset a challenge. I used a focal length of around 75mm to compress the layers, but that limited depth of field. To freeze the movement, I needed a shutter speed of at least 1/125 sec. With fading light, I pushed to f/8 and raised the ISO to 1000. The final image required a three-shot focus stack — which meant locking in manual exposure to avoid inconsistent metering between focal planes. Between denoising, stacking, and dynamic range balancing, it took a fair bit of post-processing — but thankfully the scene stayed just within manageable light limits.

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🌺 More Poppies Between Woodingdean and Ovingdean

Spotted a few vibrant poppy field photos circulating on social media — another location just outside Brighton. So I set out on a hot June morning to take a look. This was another patch of the South Downs I hadn’t walked before, nestled between Woodingdean and Ovingdean. There’s free parking at Warren Road, and from there you can drop down on foot. Despite being next to Brighton Racecourse and a golf course, once you’re among the poppies, it’s surprisingly peaceful.

The poppies are especially dense on the slope known as Red Hill — the name feels more than fitting during peak bloom. The top of the hill stretches right into the golf course, which makes me wonder how far back the name goes. In this case, I found some of the best views came from further back — compressing the scene from a distance gave more context than close-up shots. I spent a while scouting for compositions and made a plan to return for a dawn shoot when the light would be softer and the area quieter.

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🏰 Hastings Castle Ruins

For the first time, I actually paid to enter the grounds of Hastings Castle. What prompted the visit was filming a YouTube Short and Facebook Reel — but of course, I brought the camera along too. The site is open from 10am to around 4pm, so not ideal for golden hour light, but the views west — including Hastings Pier and Beachy Head in the distance — are well worth the small fee.

You can only get this perspective from within the castle grounds, and the crumbling medieval walls make a stunning foreground against the coastal backdrop. I’d love to return here at sunset — though sadly, access outside hours isn’t possible.

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Bodiam Castle Dawn Light

The weather forecast promised mist, sunshine, and broken clouds — but reality was a little different on the ground. This was a return visit to Bodiam Castle, mainly to shoot some video. But for a few magical seconds, the morning light broke through so beautifully I had to reach for the camera.

Composing here is effortless — Bodiam almost frames itself. The real skill is getting out of bed, arriving early, and waiting patiently for the light. No mist in the end, but calm conditions made for some near-perfect reflections. Managed to squeeze this in with the 24–105mm lens just before the moment passed.

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🎬 Watch the Full June 2025 Highlights Video

The clips and stories above are just part of what I captured this month. My full June video pulls everything together — with extra footage from walks where I didn’t get photos but found the rhythm and mood through video instead. You can watch it now on my YouTube channel.

📈 Thanks for the Support
This past month saw a huge boost in reach through my Facebook Reels — especially as I lean more into history, local heritage, and the politics of place. It’s been brilliant seeing the comments and conversations grow from these short films. If you’ve enjoyed this post, I’d love your support:

👍 View, Like, and Subscribe on YouTube
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This is still just the beginning — thanks for being part of it.