Had to do a trip to Wiltshire with an overnight stay so decided would include an evening hike in the Wessex Downs. Researching online Martinsell Hill looked like a great new location to explore and photograph during golden hour and sunset,

Martinsell Hill Scots Pine

Visited Wiltshire a few times in the last year once located in Salisbury and the next located in Marlborough. Back then had a list of locations to visit on Cranbourne Chase and the Wessex Downs but completely missed Martinsell Hill. I just googled Wiltshire Landscape Photography and up popped Martinsell Hill.

Martinsell Hill is a hidden gem, another one of those ancient hillforts dotted throughout Wiltshire and the south west of England. There is a small carpark nearby and then about a mile walk to the crest of the hill with magnificent views across the Wiltshire countryside. As you may know, a great view does not always translate to a good landscape photograph. But Martinsell Hill has this photogenic lone scots pine tree that makes a great subject, foreground interest, focal point or visual anchor.

Golden Hour Martinsell Hill

Arrived in front of the lone scots tree at the beginning of golden hour. The low directional light was hitting the top two thirds of the scots pine. I was also rewarded with a moon rise in a clear blue sky. Started with the wide angle lens 16-35mm but the framing was more at the 35mm end so switched to the 24-70mm to give more telephoto focal range.

What really made a difference to the composition given the directional light from the side was the use of a polariser. It made the moon and tree pop within the composition. Take away these two elements and a great view but a boring photo. As the sun went down the tree fell further into shadow and without the light lost its interest, while at the same time the moon became more pronounced and interesting. Did consider moving back with the 70-200m to compress the scene and make the moon larger but could not find a good angle.

Martinsell Hill hike

As the light faded and as was my first visit to this location decided to do a hike to the Giants Grave for sunset before heading back to the carpark.

Just scouting the location with a eye out for any new compositions. Some lovely golden hour light catching the long grass on the Giants grave.

On the footpath back managed to capture a sunset over Oare and Huish hill and the ridge back to Pewsey. Just took two exposures one for the highlights in the sky and another for the shadows in the hill. Merged these using HDR in lightroom.

Good Night

Great evening on Martinsell Hill on the Wiltshire Wessex downs, took my mind of things and happy with the scots pine photos. Just goes to show the same location shot different times of the day and year can yield different photos. An evening out that I wont forget. Will be taking frequent trips to Wiltshire over at least the next 6 months so stay tuned. Google Photos Martinsell Hill

Check out the Wiltshire Landscape Photography Gallery