From December 2017 into the new year I went on many walks around East Sussex and Kent and took many landscape photographs during the winter months. Not all the locations I visited from winter into spring 2018 produced enough content for a post on their own, but individually I took some photographs I would like to share and are worthy of a mention.  What follows is a compilation of winter landscape photography around the south east from December 2017 to March 2018.

Brightling, East Sussex, December

It was an overcast day in December  I first visited Brightling in East Sussex and to witness ‘Mad Jacks’ Follies.  With some fog it made any wide angle landscape shots difficult.

On days like this it can be productive to use a telephoto and zoom in on more detail.  The best shot of the day was at Brightling church with Jack Fullers pyramid tomb in the background.

Appledore, Kent, January

It was a cold January morning in the new year that I first visited Appledore in Kent and took a walk along the royal military canal.  Along the side of the canal I was walking there was not many openings with views across  over the dowels.

With still waters like this you want to use a polariser to remove any glare and maximise the reflections of the white fluffy clouds off the canal.  With long exposures, setting up a tripod on a river bank can be challenging.  Be careful to get the horizon straight.

Hawkhurst, Kent, January

A dull cloudy day in January with the threat of some rain, I chose Hawkhurst in Kent.   A walk through mostly woodland makes a good candidate for photography.  On overcast days contrast is reduced and the interiors of forests can more easily be captured.

Using a polariser to neutralise reflections off the autumn foliage residue, a dull day and woodland interior required a longer shutter speed of 2.5 secs, I find this usually gives a better saturation of colours, obviously a tripod is required and no wind helps.  I often experiment walking in new places only too find there was not much landscape photography to be taken.

Bexhill, East Sussex, January

January is not all dull wet and cold, some days in January can be beautiful.  The advantage with living on the seafront in Bexhill on clear days the sun sets in the south west rather than the north west in winter.

In the winter months from my balcony in Bexhill I can catch the sunset over the sea in the south west and the sunrise in the south east.  The days are at their shortest in January so capturing the golden hour is not unsociable.

Eastbourne, East Sussex, February

A bright windy day almost gale force in February and had to take my car in for its service in Eastbourne.  While I waited I took a walk down to the coast towards the foot of the south downs and beachy head with my canon compact camera.

I went up the pier on the walk back and stopped for a coffee and croissant.  Looking back at Eastbourne seafront from the pier always makes a good subject for a photograph.  This day was no exception with deep blue skies, sunlight reflecting off the building facades, the south downs backdrop and fluffy white clouds hurrying past. The simple pleasures of life.

Herstmonceux, East Sussex, February

The first day of spring is officially the 1st March but this day around Herstmonceux in February and it could have come early.  A beautiful day when you can witness the first signs of Daffodils pushing up through the soft ground.

Just down the road from Herstmonceux is Church Farm where you can sit in the graveyard with splendid views west over Pevensey levels and the rising hills of the south downs in the distance.  What a wonderful place to pour a coffee from your flask, sit and rest in peace.

Bishopstone, East Sussex, February

I got the idea for this walk from Bishopstone in east Sussex from IFootpath.  The walk was closer to the coastal towns Seaford and Newhaven than I would have liked but produced some good views of landscape once on the south downs on Rookery Hill.

The church made a perfect focal point for the eye to rest before appreciating the shadows rolling over Beacon hill behind and the south downs beyond and over the horizon.

Snowy Beach, Bexhill, East Sussex

The final few days of February and of winter and we get out first snow in Bexhill east Sussex with stereotypical winter vistas.  Snow on the beach is kind of an irony.

Before work in the morning I would often go for a brisk walk along the seafront in Bexhill with my compact camera.  From Bexhill it became obvious to me, if you are photographing a location, then that photo should contain something that uniquely identifies that place.