Decided on an afternoon walk, closer to home with a possible sunset on the horizon.  Just out of Hastings in east Sussex is the village of Westfield which would include a section of the 1066 country walk.

Wet Muddy Westfield

Plenty of parking near the now closed down pub, the Plough, always a sad sight, wont be stopping off here for a pint on completion of the walk around Westfield.

Out of Westfield on The Moor towards Great Maxfield the ground is very wet and muddy and the footpath not well defined.  Right clothing is essential when the ground is this wet and muddy.  I wear packable waterproof overtrousers, they just stop you getting so muddy and you can kneal and sit when composing a shot.  Doubting I will take any landscape compositions, the views out of Westfield are uninspiring.

1066 Country Walk

Once joining the 1066 Country walk and both the footpaths and views get a lot better.  But still struggling to find any good compositions, the light is a little flat with a mostly overcast sky.

By the side of the 1066 footpath was a small hill with a commanding view over the weald here.  Decided to get my camera and tripod out and take a shot with the leafs and branches in the foreground adding interest.  There were clouds in the sky and every now and then the setting sun would streak through the clouds highlighting the landscape.

High Dynamic Range

Initially I wanted to use a graduated filter to balance the sky and ground but then decided this was not necessary.  As long as both the highlights and shadows are within the dynamic range of the camera any adjustments can be done post processing.   A histogram is essential to determine this.  At a shutter speed of 80/1 is questionable if even a tripod was necessary.

A better composition was getting closer to the larger branch framing the mid and background interest and creating a leading line to the background.  Although not notice at the time, only in post processing, I dont like the branch breaking transition between ground and sky.

I did focus stack this composition but even at F/8 everything from the foreground to the background is within acceptable focus.  I do like the windswept autumn leafs gathered around the branch.  The composition would have improved with the low light of setting sun behind me highlighting the woodland.  But as is often the case, once I was setup and ready the sun refused to shine.

No Sunset

On the walk back to Westfield facing the setting sun, there were no more compositions to capture, the sun just disappeared behind the clouds and below the horizon with no light show.  Still I want to scout the high weald as do not know where and when a great landscape composition will reveal itself.