It seems inconceivable given my love of the area, but until yesterday my last visit to the Seven Sisters/Birling Gap/Seaford was last July. No wonder I felt like I had missed it so much, I hadn't realised that it had been that long.
Life has been rather busy since then and a lot has changed, including the fact that I had a day out with Canon Pro Jack Lodge in Dorset back in March. The tips I learned that day are working out well.
So, after a frustrating few months where weather and my time didn't often align to persuade me to head for the coast, I finally made a plan for Bank Holiday Monday to go to Seaford for the afternoon and follow that with Birling Gap for sunset that would be at low tide. The forecast was quite good and tide times coincided with sunset suitably.
Parking at South Barn, Seaford, I walked down my familiar route to Hope Gap in glorious sunshine. It was actually quite breezy, but a very pleasant day. Some of my optimism faded very quickly when I got to the cliff top at Hope Gap, cos the steps down to beach level were closed due to structural damage. The view from beach level along The Seven Sisters is my favourite, as it allows for blurry wave motion in the foreground and beautiful sunlit chalk cliffs behind that.
If I had not been such a law-abiding citizen, I could have done the same as many others and simply climbed over the fence and ignored the signs and still gone down the steps - but I didn't.
I amended my plans to a more general shot from on top of the cliffs. The results are pleasing, but not what I had originally set out to achieve.
After a while there, I had exhausted the angles I could achieve at that spot, plus I needed to start my walk back to the car and then head off for my sunset plans.
The walk back to the car from there is mainly up hill, so it gets the blood pumping and makes me breath a bit heavier. Good job I carry drink with me for these walks.
Back in the car, I drove the few miles round to Birling Gap keenly anticipating the upcoming sunset. There's a reason that I love sunset at this location at low tide, as the receding tide reveals a lovely smooth stretch of sand beyond the initial rocky foreshore. That wet sand acts as a mirror to create wonderful reflections of the colours and cloud formations of the sunsets - something I have photographed on several previous occasions. My techniques have improved since the last time though and, as all photographers know, every sunset is different.
Having parked, I changed my footwear as I knew I would need shoes suitable for walking in water to reach that stretch of sand. Loaded up and ready, I headed off down the steps to the beach and picked out a suitable spot to head for and the easiest route to getting there.
Another photographer (Lee, he introduced himself as) was already out there and I set up a few feet away as we focussed on the best angle to capture those reflections.
Quite a bit of cloud had blown in from out at sea by the time I had reached Birling Gap and I initially hoped that would add to the colours and interest. We did get some little bits of interesting colour, but mostly that cloud blocked out the sun and the hoped for colours. There was also a lot of sea foam drifting around due to the windy conditions, but that seemed to add to the images anyway.
The shot above is about as good as the colours got, but I love the reflections and the sea foam. When the sun dipped further, it did produce a little fiery glow, but that was little due to those pesky clouds.
Lee and I did gradually move forward from our original base, as some parts of the wet sand offered greater reflections. Above was one, and a little later on we moved further forward.
Given the lack of sunset colours, the only things available to chase were the reflections and interesting foreground features in the sand (above). This type of photography really is all about adapting to what nature provides and making the most of it.
All in all, a lovely evening - great interaction with Lee and interesting chat as well as banter. Some pleasing shots, but a sense of disappointment about the colours. there were some cloud patterns that would have looked awesome if the sun had produced an orangey red glow through and around them.
Another time perhaps, as each sunset is different. So, I will check weather and tide times again in near future and plan again to visit this location.
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