Durdle Door Evening

This is a long exposure evening view of remarkable Durdle Door. It is a natural arch formed by the erosion of the sea, and the most famous and stunning feature of the 150km long Jurassic Coast.  It is listed as a world heritage site of outstanding natural beauty by UNESCO.

I went here to photograph and timelapse the Milky Way in late spring as it lined up with the beautiful archway. I managed to get one great shot (see here) of the night sky, but I was keen to do some long exposure views before the nightfall, and this is one of those images. The sun had set but its reflected warm glow in the sky still added sheen to the surface of the sea, and enveloped the craggy rockface. I was thrilled to see also how it lit up the clouds with a beautiful soft rosy tint.

To capture these mesmerising scenes you use dark lens filters which extend the exposure time. Extending time like this – in this case to around 3 and half minutes – smooths out the sea by averaging the movement of the water, allowing the hidden colours beneath the choppy surface to come out. The waves on the shoreline are also smoothed into a creamy paste, and any clouds are stretched across the sky especially if there is some wind. The end result is to me utterly captivating, and creates an almost surreal atmosphere, evocative of a tranquil, almost dream-like world, very different from the mundane reality of a short exposure snapshot.

Related categories Britain | Panoramas | Panoramic Landscapes | Landscapes | Seascapes | Scotland | Long Exposures