Outdoor Photography

February 2018 Outdoor Photography 53

I was walking west along the

promenade at Branksome Chine,

searching for a composition on the

beach. The sun was setting, and with

good cloud cover there was a chance

that any colour would stretch across

the sky. Sure enough, I looked left and

saw the bottoms of the clouds starting

to catch some of the colours of the

setting sun. I set up my camera to look

out along one of the groynes, placing

the colourful sky directly above it,

and set the focal length to include Old

Harry Rocks in the distance, which

provides a subtle indication of where

it was taken.

I wanted the photograph to have

as much symmetry as possible, and

this provided the biggest technical

challenge. Despite obsessing over my

tripod placement and the direction

my camera was facing, I also had to

set up quickly, as there wasn’t long

left before the light would be gone

and I still had settings and fi lters to

think about.

Owen Vachell visits a beach in Poole that is not only quieter than its neighbours

in Bournemouth and Sandbanks, but also has plenty of interesting subjects on off er

Branksome Chine beach, Dorset

Nikon D810 with

16-35mm lens

at 16mm, ISO 64,

13sec at f/11, 0.6 hard

ND grad, 10-st op ND,

tripod, cable release

How to get there Take the A31 west from

Ringwood for approximately one mile, and then

turn left on to the A338, which will take you into

Bournemouth. Follow the A338 until you reach

the County Gates gyratory, where you should

take the B3065. Continue for one mile until you

reach Branksome Chine car park.

What to shoot Groynes, patt erns and textures

in the sand, cliff s, beach huts and the sea.

Best time of day Sunrises from late autumn

through to early sp ring.

Food/drink Branksome Beach, Pinecliff Road,

Branksome Chine, Poole, BH13 6LP,

01202 767235, branksomebeach.co.uk.

Accommodation The Inn in the Park,

26 Pinewood Road, Poole, BH13 6JS,

01202 761318, innintheparkpoole.co.uk.

Other times of year Summer mornings

or evenings for the golden light.

Ordnance Survey map OL 15

Nearby locations Studland and Godlingst on

Heath (5 miles); the Jurassic Coast (7 miles).

2 miles from Bournemouth • 16 miles from Ringwood ACCESS RATING

There was a slight and cool breeze

in the air, so my attention turned to

portraying this feeling to the viewer.

A two-stop hard ND grad was used to

control the contrast between the sky

and the foreground and I took a test

shot to ensure the image was sharp

before adding a 10-stop ND fi lter.

This gave me a shutter speed that

was slow enough to smooth the sea

and create a sense of calm.

53 VP SINGLE Owen Vachell 227.indd 53 18/12/2017 15:25