After a beautiful late summers day over Golden Cap and visiting Seatown in Dorset I drove on too my intended destination the west Dorset coastal town of Lyme Regis.

Evening in Lyme Regis

I checked into my hotel the Cobblers just a few miles outside of Lyme Regis in a nice place called Colyton.  I was pretty knackered after my long walk around Seatown earlier in the day but was keen and excited to visit Lyme Regis.

I just too my compact camera with me, it was more a recon, tomorrow I would do a proper walk around Lyme Regis and take my DLSR etc.  Late evening and the warm sunshine was keeping holidaymakers on the beach.

I had some fish n chips in town and a pint and then headed back to my hotel where I had a few more beers before crashing out for the night.

Walk around Lyme Regis

I not make an early start the next morning, but enjoyed the best English cooked breakfast ever in the Cobblers before checking out and heading back to Lyme Regis for a proper walk with my DLSR.

The weather was not brilliant first thing in the morning.  I was just hand holding my camera to begin.  I was using the AA’s walking guide to Dorset for Lyme Regis hoping it would take me on the best route with the best views.

I had sweated the beer out by the time I made it back down to the beach.  Up to this point had not really seen any spectacular landscapes to take a photo of.

Marine parade along the beach is very photogenic but not exactly landscape or remote which I am more used to.  I longed to be back in the hills, alone, far from the madding crowd.

Its still cloudy, mid morning and all the holidaymakers are coming out hoping the sun will soon do the same.

Hand Holding along Marine Parade

Using a tripod you will always get superior photos, but its not always convenient to use.  Taking photos handheld has its advantages.  I find hand holding the camera I can get the depth of field I need using F8 which gives me a fast enough shutter speed.

When not focusing on a near object like the boat in the bay you can use a wider aperture and get focus to infinity in the background.  There is nothing that needs to be kept sharp in the foreground only the sea water.  The first thing your eye focuses on is the boat with the boat being the focal point of the photograph.  You may as well use your lens sweet spot when you dont need to focus on anything nearby.  The sweet spot is usually a few stops up from your widest aperture.

On the coast Lyme Regis is a beautiful little coastal Dorset town.  I was glad to see and experience it.  But now I was going to make my way to Weymouth.