S
ITUATEDINSOUTHDORSET,
Purbeckisjam-packedwithinterest:
it containssomeofthiscountry’s
mostphotogeniclocations,it marks
thestartoftheJurassicCoast,the
UK’sfirstwhollynaturalWorld
HeritageSiteandit containssomeofthe
planet's mostinterestinggeology.
Alargepartof Purbeck– includingparts
ofDorsettothe west–is anAreaof
OutstandingNaturalBeauty, withsomeof
thecoastownedbytheMinistryofDefence
afterit wasrequisitionedduringWorldWarII.
Althoughthis ownershiphascausedsome
controversyovertheyears,the upsideis that
therehasbeennodevelopmentonthisland,
meaningit hasbecomea havenforwildlife.
It is sucha beautiful areathatin recentyears
therehasbeena campaign tohavePurbeck
designatedasaNationalPark.
In thistourofPurbeckandtheJurassic
Coast,you'llexplorerockarches,seastacks
andhistoricruins,aswellassomeofthe
area’shiddengems:desertedquarries,ghost
villagesanddramatic clifftopviewpoints.78 DigitalSLR PhotographyOctober 2 019
1) The dramatic cliffs and chalk stacks of Old Harry Rocks are
a good sunrise location at any time of year. 2) The Old Pier at
Swanage is a natural subject for long-exposure minimalism.
Visit in winter when the pontoon has been removed. 3) Winter
sunriseovertherockyledges at Seacombe.The south-eastcorner
Probably thebestplacetobegin a photo
expeditiontoPurbeckisinits south-east
cornerat theverybeginningoftheJurassic
Coast.TheVictorianseasidetownofSwanage
is a greatbasefora touroftheareaandan
excellentplacetobeginyourphotography.
There's interestingcoastalarchitecturealong
thebeachsuchas weatheredwooden
groynesandgroynemarkers,as wellas the
‘banjojetty’ (socalledbecauseof itsshape)
andthe stonequay– a smallharbourwallthat
protrudesfromthemainwalkway.Theseall
makegreatminimalist studiesorcanbe used
asforegroundinterestwithinwiderviews.
The townisbestknownamongst
photographersforitspier,locatedonthe
south-easternendof theseafront.Thereare
infacttwopiers:a well-restoredVictorian
pier,withintricateironrailings andlamp-
posts;andtheremainsof the‘oldpier’,a set
of decayingwoodenpoststhatstretchout
to sea.Theoldpieris afavouritesubjectfor
long-exposureenthusiasts,however,during
thediveseason,itis usually surroundedby an
ugly plastic pontoon for access to boats– it'sthereforeashotbest left for winter.TTo shoot
bothpiers,youneedaccesstothe newpier,
whichis runbya charitabletrustandcharges
a smallentryfee.Itis usuallyopenduring
daylighthourssochecktheirwebsitebefore
planninga shoot:swanagepiertrust.com.
Justa fewminutes’driveawayis thevillage
ofStudland, withitslong,sandybeachand
sanddunes,onwhichheatherbloomsin the
summer.Thedunesmakegreatforeground
forlandscapestowardsOldHarryRocks,the
chalkstacksthatmarktheeasternendofthe
JurassicCoast.Fora closerviewof Old
Harry,parkin theNationalTTrustcarparknext
totheBankesArmsin the village andwalkto
HandfastPoint.This viewpoint works wellat
sunriseallyearand,whileyou’re there,don’t
forgettoturnaroundandshoottheview
westtowardsSwanage– the chalkstack
knownasThePinnacleisjustasimpressive
asOldHarrybutoftengetsoverlookedin
favourofitsmorefamousneighbour.
ClosetoSwanagearethevillagesof
LangtonMatraversandWorthMatravers.
Fromhere,youcanaccesssomeofthe
area’shiddengems:thedisusedquarries
ofDancingLedge,Winspit andSeacombe.It takesa bitofeffortto gettoDancing
Ledge:there's a smallcarparkat theendof
DurnfordDroveinLangtonMatraversand
fromthereit’s a walkalonga footpathto
SpywayFarmandthena steepdescentto
DancingLedge.Therearegoodshotstobe
hadfromthecliffbuttogetdowntothe
ledgeitselfis a scramble– asit’s quiteremote
andthere’snophonesignal,it’sbestnotto
goalone.The effortis worthit asthereare
greatshotstobehadfrombothdirections.
Ifyouwantforegroundinterest,thereare
large ammonitesin therockbedandalsoa
small, man-made tidalswimmingpoolin the
ledge.Thebesttimetovisitisin winterwhen
the sunrisesandsetsoverthe sea.
Justalongthe coast,accessedvia
footpathsfromWorthMatravers,aretwo
moreoldquarries:Winspit andSeacombe.
They'rebothrugged,rockycovesthatwork
wellonanoutgoingtide withdramatic
headlandsin thebackground.Seacombeis
slightlylargerandalongerwalk, though
onceyougetthereit’s easiertogetdownto
the shore.Whicheveroneyouvisit, theyboth
make excellentsunriselocationsbetween
mid-September andmid-March.MarkBauer hasbeen a full-time
landscapephotographer sincethe
early 2000 s. Heis bestknownforhis
evocativeimagesofDorsetand
otherlocationsin thesouthwestof
Englandbuthis worktakeshim todestinationsall
aroundthe world.Markhas wonnumerousawards
andas wellasbeinga regular contributorto theUK
photographic press,includingDigitalSLR
Photographyy,hehasauthoredsevenbooks.
http://www.markbauerphotography.comBIOGRAPHY
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