Lockdown continued into May but the restrictions were eased from the middle of the month onward. May has been extremely warm and dry in East Sussex, another record breaker, like mid summer at times. What follows is a compilation of landscape photography during May around East Sussex.
Sedlescombe
Early in May took a walk out of Sedlescombe over the high weald towards Brede High Wood. It was a beautiful morning taking just my compact camera with the intention of scouting the area.
Buttercups are out in force during the warm month of May. Getting low and close to the buttercups above, breaks the empty space in the mid ground. There are a couple of Oast houses on top of the hill in the background, although at this focal length and distance from subject they are too small to be a focal point. The low cumulus clouds add interest to the blue sky.
Pett Level Marsh
On an overcast Sunday afternoon in early May, took a walk along Winchelsea Canal from Pett Level then up through Pett Level Marshes then back along the beach.
Looking back from the marsh back up to Hogs hill could make a good sunset photo. With the water providing a leading line, although leaves at the edge of the right of the frame rather than merging into the hill. I know the sun sets there as have not been able to photograph the setting sun effectively when on Pett Level beach, which is behind in the photograph above.
Pett Level Beach Golden Hour Moon Rise
That time of the month again when the moon rises as the sun is setting and during low tide. So headed down to Pett Level beach again to photograph the spectacle. This was the day before the full moon with the moon rising during golden hour. The intention was to return again the next day.
You can learn a lot by just being out in an area at a particular time of day and year and just observing the conditions. During Golden Hour the moon was not pronounced enough until blue hour by which time it was much higher in the sky. To begin I tried to include foreground interest with the rocks and ancient forest remains on the beach revealed by low tide. But these were distracting from the simplified, minimal image above. The other problem with too short a focal length the moon becomes too small and just a bright dot in the sky, we want to see detail in the moon.
Pett Level Beach Full Moon Rise Blue Hour
So we return the next evening to Pett Level Beach, this time to capture the full moon rising during blue hour. We knew what we wanted to include and exclude from any seascape photos tonight from our experience the evening before. My friend more into wildlife photography brings his 800mm prime lens for some intimate shots of the moon filling the frame.
It was a learning experience using the 800mm lens, just trying to get it to remain still and in focus, we need to invest in a good Gimbal for this type of lens.
From my experience the evening before knew I wanted a long exposure of the tide coming in simplifying the foreground. Cliff end was going to be the main focal point with the vibrant colours in the sky. Also necessary to set the tripod up in the water so needed to wear wellington boots.
Battle Scouting
Later in the month of May I do some short morning walks parking up near Battle Abbey in East Sussex and scouting with my compact camera. Am visualising a sunrise composition of Battle Abbey in winter, when the trees are bare and ground mist, just like that shot of Winchester Cathedral in the mist. These could be money shots!
From studying OS Maps first it possible to determine the potential of these landscape photos and then going on a scout, before returning when the light is right. Where there is an old historical building like Battle Abbey you are looking for a hilltop nearby with a good viewpoint.
Taking an alternative route from Battle Abbey the following morning the church tower at Catsfield from Horns Hill has similar potential.
Camber Castle Sunset
With the days hot in May and sunrise too early not been getting out as much as would like, considering have all this free time. So decided to head out one evening for a sunset at Camber Castle in east Sussex. I had scouted out Camber Castle a while back while walking the beach at Rye.
Camber Castle makes a great subject and is quite remote and unknown. Before arriving I was aware there would be little foreground or background interest, but the low light catching the stonework of the castle walls should make a good focal point. This was the first time had used my L Bracket to easily switch to a vertical(portrait) composition which in this instance with the leading line was a much stronger composition than the equivalent horizontal or landscape one.
Unfortunately the setting sun went behind low clouds and missed the best of the low directional light. Still it was great to be out photographing such a fascinating subject.
Brede Level Winchelsea
The last landscape photo walk of May was up to Winchelsea from Pett Level to check out the views over Brede Level and hopefully catch a sunset. Winchelsea is another fascinating place with lots of history in East Sussex. Winchelsea sits on top of a hill on the high weald and commands good views all around, these are views I have wanted to check out for a while now.
Arrived with plenty of time to setup and wait for sunset. Again low clouds were going to block the setting sun. Although a great view there was a large distracting recently ploughed field right in the center and not really blend well with its surrounding. Used the gate to try and lessen its visual weight and add something interesting to the foreground. The sky is the star though. The dynamic range of the vista was too much for the camera so bracketed two shots, exposing one for the highlights(sky) and another for the shadows(ground). The intention was to blend both in Photoshop post processing. I prefer this technique now rather than using graduated filters.
The End Of May
That wraps up my landscape photography during the month of May, I did venture to one or two other places, but not capture any images worth sharing, this is not wasted time and you are eliminating locations and reducing your search space. With all this downtime during lockdown and not working, I am studying masking within Photoshop and been creating new galleries by counties on this website.
The intention is to get out each month now and photograph the full moon rising and to get out once a week over the high weald or south downs and photograph a sunset. These are always challenging conditions and can be the most rewarding.