Having recently obtained a new camera, I was keen to try it out for sunset photos and chose a spot I have visited many times. I checked the weather forecast and the local tide times and headed for Birling Gap, which is situated at the Eastern end of the Seven Sisters before you reach Beachy Head.
The forecast said sunny with small clouds for sunset time, while the low tide would allow me to reach a stretch of sand beyond the rocks which line the shore. That stretch of sand is usually wet from the receding tide and the sunset colours reflect in the wet sand - I just had to keep fingers crossed for decent colour.
The colours started to come through as the sun dipped behind the cliffs of the Seven Sisters and Seaford Head (above), this scene raising my expectations of what was likely to follow once the sun got lower in the sky and dipped below the horizon.
I now knew from experience of this location, that I know longer needed crossed fingers as the colours were going to strengthen.
The photo above was with the use of a graduated ND filter and the colours were getting stronger, the slower shutter speed used because of the filter smoothed out the water of the small incoming waves.
I then fitted my variable ND filter to accentuate the colours as they increased in strength and, for the shot below, I zoomed out a bit to include the wisps of cloud that were also catching the colour.
The shot above was my reward for having headed straight to the location after finishing work and grabbing a quick bite to eat from a supermarket on the way. Getting the shot meant I would also be home quite late and therefore created a long day for me, as I had visited my elderly and frail Mum in a hospice for the morning before heading to work for the afternoon and then straight to Birling Gap from work.
It also meant traversing some very slippery chalk rocks to get to the wet sand , the rocks made more slippery than usual by a thin coating of mud to add to the existing seaweed and those rocks are always slippery if you get wet soles on your shoes - it made the traverse before and after the shoot even more tricky than I was used to, but Hey ..... nothing ventured, nothing gained.
I have several differing shots from that evening, as I experimented with tripod height and zooming in or out to alter how much of the scene was in shot. I also experimented with the variable ND filter, changing the amount of light let in changes the shutter speed and the slower for that equals the more blurred the water. Whilst 'playing' with settings, I also made some exposures where I deliberately overrode what the camera said and under of over exposed by a stop or two to see how much difference those changes made.
It was a very happy me on my journey home, as I knew from the back of the camera that I had some very pleasing photos.
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