Category: England

Durlston Country Park: where inspiration is born

Views of the Milky Way from Durlston Country Park, Dorset, England.

Durlston Country Park is a 1.13 square kilometre (280-acre) country park and nature reserve stretching along the coast of the Isle of Purbeck at Durlston near Swanage in Dorset, England.  The Park, which is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, has been owned by Dorset County Council since the early 1970s and is mostly open access.

©Kevin_Ferrioli00011160410
View points across the park with descriptions

In 1887 George Burt, local constructor and business man who used to own Durlston estate, built a small ‘castle’ at Durlston Head, on the hill above Durlston Bay and the town of Swanage. The Durlston Castle was never a real castle, but was purpose-built to be used as a restaurant for his estate.

©Kevin_Ferrioli00008160219
Durlston Castle

Burt also commissioned a 40-ton limestone Globe, three metres in diameter, engraved with an 1880s world map. The footpaths around the Castle and Globe are lined with cast iron London bollards which were left in Swanage having been used as ballast by the ships transporting stone to London. Other ornaments include plaques carved with quotations from Shakespeare and the Bible, maps showing the English Channel and the United Kingdom, and facts about the natural world.

©Kevin_Ferrioli00006150620
The Globe, a 40-ton, 3 meter diamete sphere.
©Kevin_Ferrioli00015160410
The globe is engraved with an 1880 world map

In the 19th and 20th centuries Purbeck was quarried for its high-quality limestone. There were few open-cast quarries, and none in Durlston, but there are many mine shafts across the landscape, notably Tilly Whim Caves in a dry glacial meltwater valley.

©Kevin_Ferrioli00009160410
View of the Tilly Whim Caves

Most of the Park is designated Site of Special Scientific Interest and since 1997, a Special Area of Conservation. The majority is also designated as a Site of Nature Conservation Importance.

Durlston Country Park is one of the most inspiring places for photography in Dorset.

Anvil Point

Hengistbury Head…Natural Reserve

Hengistbury Head, an outstanding beauty day and night

Hengistbury Head is a headland jutting into the English Channel between Bournemouth and Mudeford in the English county of Dorset. It is a site of international importance in terms of its archaeology and is scheduled as an Ancient Monument.Declared a Local Nature Reserve in 1990, the head and its surroundings form part of the Christchurch Harbour Site of Special Scientific Interest.It is also a Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area, an Environmentally Sensitive Area and a Site of Nature Conservation Interest.

IMG_1981
The head supports about 500 plant species which is a quarter of the national flora.
IMG_2003-Edit
H.M. Coastguard Relay Station on the top of Warren Hill

The name “Hengistbury Head” refers to the immediate area; the elevated portion is called Warren Hill.

IMG_1988-Pano-Edit
View of Christchurch Harbour from Warren Hill

The area enjoy some beautiful dark spots where the Milky Way can be photographed with amazing detail

IMG_2087-Edit
Groin constructed to reduce erosion of the head, lights of the Isle of Wight

Enjoy the moon rising, giving the impression of a landscape from mars.

©Kevin_Ferrioli00001160501
Moonrise from Hengistbury Head, Dorset, England

Branksome Beach Love

Astrophotography in Poole, Bournemouth, Dorset, England. Canon 6D. Love inspiration. Milky Way

Branksome beach in Poole, Dorset-UK, is not a place where you would think to photograph the night sky…surrounded by light pollution from Bournemouth and Poole, using the right exposure the Milky Way can be captured.  This time I did it with the help of two couples and showed them the beauty of the night sky…

IMG_2326-Edit-2I was lucky to have a clear sky with a low tide at the same time…it was also a good opportunity to experiment some techniques using a flash and snoot to lighten up the subjects…

IMG_2211-EditAnd also to combine some techniques derived from the photography of deep sky objects (like galaxies, nebulas, etc)…For the image below,  I have taken one photo with the couple and then 24 more without moving the camera or changing the settings….It was about 6 minutes of info in total…Using Deep Sky Stacker (DSS) I have stacked the 24 images and then combined in photoshop with the very first image of the couple…the result is a detailed view of the galactic centre…

IMG_2235-Edit-2
Galactic Centre from Branksome Beach, Poole Dorset, England. Canon 6D, 25Exposures 15sec iso8000 F4, 24 of them stacked with DSS.

 

Earth Day

Earth Day Celebration

©Kevin_Ferrioli_N00029150919
Lonely Tree, Purbeck, Dorset, England

This is an annual event, celebrated on April 22, on which day events worldwide are held to demonstrate support for environmental protection. It was first celebrated in 1970, and is now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network and celebrated in more than 193 countries each year…

©Kevin_Ferrioli_N00001160410-6

Let’s celebrate!

Bournemouth Hidden Beauty: Night Sky

Bournemouth, a city blessed with miles of sandy beaches and inspiring scenery….but there is a face that not many people know…the night sky…

©Kevin_Ferrioli_N00001150711
One of my first attempts in 2015, the Milky Way above the Bournemouth Pier. Canon 6D Samyang 14mm 2.8. July 2015

Bournemouth has been my personal testing ground for night photography under extreme light pollution….it was only a dream to see the Milky Way under such conditions…but after several attempts I learned a thing or two, extracting the maximum of the camera sensor (Canon 6D) and also from the lenses.

©Kevin_Ferrioli00001150721
Milky Way next to Bournemouth Pier, July 2015.

 

It took me several attempts due to my learning curve but also due to the lack of windows of opportunity, most of the times when I went to give it a go, a huge cloud gave me little or no chance…but keep trying and you eventually get something…  The light pollution coming from the beach is amber type, which is very difficult to deal with so first thing to do is to try it  where the lights are not present or when they are switched off, which in Bournemouth Pier is after 1am.

©Kevin_Ferrioli_N00001150723
©Kevin_Ferrioli_N00001150723-2

After these shots I though there was more room for improvement and I kept trying different locations. Taking photos of the Milky Way in Bournemouth is most of the time a failure than a success… I have even tried to repeat some of these shots and it has been proven very difficult.  But there was one option I didn’t try last year:  A panoramic shot. And the morning of the 17th April 2016 was the window…it was not very long due to the moon set at 4:20 am aprox and again not being helped by the approaching clouds, but it was enough for only three attempts and here are the results:

The above attempt was in the dark hour (no moon and no twilight of the dawn, it lasted less than 30 min). Few minutes later(image below), the very first light of dawn started to appear on the left…it was a truly breathtaking view….

©Kevin_Ferrioli00001160417

The first pano is made of 12 vertical images…the second from 5 horizontal images…

I believe that it could be done even better, these images are just a proof of concept..,during summer time there will be another try…Bournemouth deserve it!!!

 

 

 

 

St Aldhelm’s Chapel…

 

One night early September 2015, I headed to Worth Matravers in the search for a little construction, it was my first time there, it took me several attempts to find the way with the lights of the stars only….

St Aldhelm’s Chapel

St Adhlelm’s Chapel is a Norman construction within a low circular earthwork, which may be the remains of a pre-Conquest Christian enclosure.  The building has several Continue reading “St Aldhelm’s Chapel…”

The beauty of the starry nights…

Lake Pier in Hamworthy , Poole, Dorset, England.  In the image, the Milky Way and Sirius.©Kevin_Ferrioli_N00001151113

View of the Milky Way above a Farm in Kimmeridge, Dorset, England. ©Kevin_Ferrioli_N00001150522

Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxy from New Forest, Hampshire, England.

©Kevin_Ferrioli_N00001160107-2
Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxy, New Forest, Hampshire

St Aldhelm Chapel, Dorset, England.©Kevin_Ferrioli_N00001150911

Milky Way and Perseid Meteor above Christchurch Priory, Dorset, England ©Kevin_Ferrioli_N00001150806

Norman Castle Ruins in Christchurch, Dorset, England.©Kevin_Ferrioli_N00001150808

More Nightscapes…

 

The beginning…

Welcome to my site that I just managed to put together.  It is a difficult task as not only I had to learn how to build it but also how to choose the content. Here you will find nearly all my experiences as a Landscape Photographer, chasing sunrises, sunsets and the night sky which is simply addictive… I hope you enjoy the photos, and little by little I will be adding more content in order to make it as a big book. I bring this not only for my self but also for the army of people who find my images as a beautiful way to travel to another worlds…Many of them are a reminder of who we are….Enjoy!