Another part of the Jurassic coast on the Isle of Purbeck I had not covered was the Kimmeridge Ledges. The plan was to park up in Kimmeridge and make my way back via Swyre Head, hopefully catching a setting moon over the bay.
OS Map Kimmeridge to Swyre Head
I really wanted to arrive pre-dawn at Kimmeridge but had a problem getting out of bed at such an early hour once again. I had visited both Kimmeridge and Swyre head on earlier walks around Purbeck, but had not done this route along the ledges.
Studying OS Maps online the path was circular covering two long tracks not walked before. the south-west coastal path along the Kimmeridge Ledges and then from Swyre head over Smedmore Hill back to Kimmeridge.
Lee Filters
I decided to replace my Cokin filters with the Lee Filter system. The Cokin filter holder was giving me grief and I had lost some screws. Like replacing my tripod this was a major improvement to my landscape photography.
The first thing to buy is LEE Filters 100mm System Foundation Kit. If your serious about your landscape photography and want to save a lot of money then jump straight into the Lee Filter system.
To fit the filter holder to your lens you need an adaptor. So as not to get vignetting you need a wide angle adaptor for your lens diameter.
For a good overview of using the Lee Filter system 100mm check out the above introductory video.
Long Exposure Filters
It was a cloudy day at Kimmeridge bay. Behind those clouds a near full moon was setting. I made the best of the situation and tried to come up with a composition in the dull light conditions.
With my Lee Filter system I had also invested in a Lee Filters Big Stopper Glass Filter Neutral-Density. This ND filter reduces light entering the lens by 10 stops.
It comes with a handy lookup table to decide the shutter speed required for a given aperture. I was looking at a couple of minutes and had to put my Canon DLSR into Bulb mode.
Using a big stopper can make an otherwise average composition into something more dramatic, although not sure in this case. But not bad for a first effort. Using cable release to start and stop the exposure without touching the camera. Using a timer on my mobile phone, bulb mode were all firsts. You should also cover your viewfinder on a long exposure. If you not got a proper cap you can just use cut out pieces of ducktape.
Opportunity Missed
While taking my long exposures of Kimmeridge bay some kayaking enthusiasts walked around and were interested in my photography. Only in hindsight did I realise they were probably fishing for me to take some photos of them out at sea. And I could have given them one of my specially made cards. An opportunity missed.
Kimmeridge Ledges
I climbed up the cliff face, pass the folly of Clavell tower and made my way along the south west coastal path in the direction of Swyre Head. Below me were the Kimmeridge Ledges.
With the thick cloud and lack of sunshine the cliff face looked a little dull and lacked texture and color. Still, I used a Lee little stopper to extend exposure and smooth the ripples of the sea.
Although cloudy, visibility was quite good with Portland Bill in the distant. Looking west the further point along the same Jurassic coastline is Worbarrow tout.
During spring the above compositions could look completely different with an abundance of colours due to clifftop flowers in the foreground and a fiery dawn or dusk sky. Even on a dull day on the Purbeck coast it’s still good seascape practice photography.
Towards Sywre Head
I made my way up the steep climb of Swyre head, Looking back got an intimate landscape photography shot with the telephoto end of my lens. With Clavell tower acting as the focus point.
Along the footpath back to Kimmeridge along the ridge of the Purbeck hills were good views of Corfe Castle. I entered private land to try to get a unique shot. The weather was rapidly changing from bad to worse.
With the dull conditions, Corfe castle does not stand out from its background.