On two successive Mondays in September 2020, we opted for afternoon dashes to Chichester Harbour area for sunsets and walks (while still allowed to travel). Those days suited because of my wife work shift patterns and coincidentally some decent weather.
On the first trip, we headed for an old favourite, Bosham, where I have tried on various occasions to capture a great sunset and not had the best of luck. On arrival, we could see there were quite a few other people intent on enjoying this summer evening. So we looked around for a spot that we thought might give a decent view.
I had intended to use a jetty or similar to lead the eye into the photo, but nothing immediately stood out to fulfill that plan.
However, a bit more scouting around yielded the possibility of quite a 'graphic' image with the row of wooden posts that mark a particular channel giving a lead in. There was another plus, there was a ladder up from a mooring below, that had shape at the top and would obviously be silhouetted against the sunset.
We sat and waited a little for the sun to drop further towards the horizon and I set up for my intended spot. The posts and ladder top had the desired effects and the sunset produced some great colour, so I did actually get what I visualised.
As the sun slipped below the horizon, the glow continued for quite a while. This 'after glow' also gave some lovely colours, while I increased the exposure time to compensate for the lower light levels. I shifted to a different spot to get some boats into the picture and to eliminate the Sailing Club building that was to the right of the previous image. The boats ended up a bit silhouetted, as my skills don't yet allow me to capture detail enough in the darker areas when the picture has light and dark together.
The following week, having studied a map for other suitable spots, we headed for Bracklesham Bay.
The tide was very low by this time and the sun was producing a lot of colour that reflected on the wet sand, with the rippled sand giving lovely texture and pattern to this colour.
I am not sure I really did the scene justice, but light and dark is still an area I need to improve my ability in to capture the best images.
We then walked back along the beach for a while as the colours faded, a lovely evening stroll in the sea air. After a while, I noticed the moon had risen and that the glow from that was reflected in the sea and wet sand. Setting up for a vertical shot, on the tripod, I was rewarded with a satisfying photo (satisfying, 'cos I had spotted the potential and then captured it).
There are many beautiful spots around Chichester Harbour, good for walking as mainly level and great for nice clean sea air. Some really nice villages around, though some spots are more widely known and can et a bit busy traffic at peak times. The whole area is one we love to wander and explore, though there are still a lot of bits we haven't visited yet. If you want a bit less rural etc, then Chichester itself is a lovely place to walk around - we did the City Walls walk a couple of years ago and thoroughly enjoyed our day.
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