Tag: Love Dorset

Peveril Point Swanage Milky Way Welcome 2018

Swanage Peveril Point Milky Way in Dorset UK

Swanage Milky Way
Milky Way and moon rise from Peveril Point in Swanage, Dorset, United Kingdom

As I did last year, I went again to the same place for my first Milky Way, Peveril Point, Swanage, Dorset UK. For my previous attempt, I used a Sigma Art lens 20mm F1.4. The idea was to capture more detailed foregrounds. The lens proved to be excellent for low light but it has four major downsides: first, photos of the night sky taken with this lens were extremely difficult to edit. Second, it is not very good for panoramas, despite I used a nodal head. Third, the autofocus is the worst of any lens that I have ever owned, it is very difficult to capture a sharp photo even with the best light conditions. And fourth, the lens profile in Lightroom is terrible, it makes the images worse. I was not bothered by the astigmatism distortion of the corners which virtually disappeared in panoramas. Overall, I was not happy with the lens, I felt I wasted my last year trying to use it. So I went back to my trustworthy Samyang lens 14mm F2,8. Coupled with the Canon 6D, still my preferred choice. I have not tested the Sigma 14mm F2 yet, but given the price, I will stick with my Samyang.

Below is the process used to create it. It is a panorama of 7 photos, Canon 6d and Samyang 14mm F2.8, ISO between 4000 and 5000. Each photo is 25 secs. Stitched in Adobe Lightroom.

Peveril Point Swanage Milky Way: 7 images highlighted below and stitched in Abobe Lightroom.

I also took another one without me, and here is the result:

Swanage Peveril Point Milky Way. Dorset United Kingdom. Canon 6d Mk1 Samyang 14mm F2.8. Panorama of 8 photos. 25 Secs each ISO 4000.

The moon rise was spectacular, one of the most beautiful rises from the sea, it was also so dim that allowed to capture the Milky Way up to the last minute before the astronomical dawn. Again, I thank you the nature for this beautiful experience.

And 2017 so far

This year 2017, started with big expectations, always trying to be realistic too about what it could be achieved, as the windows of opportunities in the UK are extremely reduced…so every clear night is so precious, to the point that if I miss one window(a clear moonless night ), I feel like I just wasted my time by doing something else.  It is a journey, and a great learning experience and it has become a religion.

Radar Monument St Aldhelm’s Head Milky Way – Dorset Milky Way Photography UK
St Aldhelm’s Chapel – Dorset Milky Way Photography UK
Studland Beach Milky Way – Dorset Milky Way Photography UK
Moonrise Boscome Beach Dorset UK
Lyrid Meteor and Milky Way – Dorset Milky Way Photography UK
Durlston Country Park Milky Way – Dorset Milky Way Photography UK
Moon and Jupiter above Bournemouth Pier Dorset UK
Lulworth Cove Milky Way – Dorset Milky Way Photography UK
Man O’War Milky Way – Dorset Milky Way Photography UK
Man O’War Milky Way – Dorset Milky Way Photography UK
Man O’War Milky Way – Dorset Milky Way Photography UK
Man O’War Milky Way – Dorset Milky Way Photography UK
Kimmeridge and Thunderstorm Milky Way – Dorset Milky Way Photography UK
Kimmeridge Thunderstorm Dorset UK
Durlston Country Park Milky Way – Dorset Milky Way Photography UK

 

Heavenly Ways

Heavens are my inspiration and always finding the ways to get to them…

Last Thursday 27th April 2017 from Durslton Country Park in Dorset UK.

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Trying to reach you Milky Way Durlston Country Park Dorset UK

Poole Harbour Starry Nights 

Poole Harbour Milky Way Dorset

The largest natural harbour in the United Kingdom.  It is the estuary of 4 rivers, the largest being the Frome.  It has an approximate area of 36km2 (14 sq mi) and it is very shallow (average depth is 48cm) .  The area has a long history of human settlement pre-Roman times.  The harbour was used by the Romans as an invasion port.

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View of the Sandbanks chain ferry jetty. Sirius and the Milky Way, Sandbanks, Poole, England
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Milky Way above Parkstone Yacht Club and Poole Quay, from Whitecliff Harbourside Park, Poole, England

Poole is the main town.  It became a wealthy city in the 17th century as it was a trading hub, and by the 18th century it was the main British port trading with North America.

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Milky Way view above Poole Park, Dorset, England

 

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Hamworthy Lake Pier,  Sirius and the Milky Way, Poole, England.

The harbour is an area of international importance for wildlife conservation, and borders three natural reserves.

 

 

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View of the Milky Way above the harbour from Evening Hill, Poole, England

Poole Harbour has a special charm, and is well known for the most beautiful sunsets in Dorset.  This post is about a face little known, Poole Harbour under the starry nights

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Milky Way above Sandbanks bay, next to the sailing club. Poole, 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.

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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.

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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.

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The Globe, a 40-ton, 3 meter diamete sphere.
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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.

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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.

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The head supports about 500 plant species which is a quarter of the national flora.
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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.

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View of Christchurch Harbour from Warren Hill

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

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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.

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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…

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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

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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…

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Let’s celebrate!

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…”