Portland Bill Lighthouse, Dorset

I woke up with birdsong at 4.30am just before my alarm went off. We were out by 5.15am and set off for Knowlton Church to photograph the sunlight on the ruined church. It was a sunny day with blue, cloudless skies which is no good for an interesting sunrise. We took a few images there, bracketing the images to manage the shadows and bright sunlight as the sun rose. These days most pro photographers prefer to bracket images instead of using gradient filters when the light is contrasty, as filters usually leave a tell tale darkening of any subject rising into the sky. 

It was absolutely freezing - the temperature was around 3C and it later rose to about 12C which is not that cold, but there was a very strong icy wind that cut through everything making it feel much colder. I really needed my extra warm gear which I wore in Iceland!

As it was so sunny and bright we were limited in finding locations that would make for some interesting photography. Guy did not even use his camera today as he said it was not worth it! We decided to go photograph Portand Bill lighthouse at Weymouth, after making a couple of quick stops at other locations on the way there. As it was so windy we knew the waves would be quite wild and it could make some good images in the foreground of the lighthouse. It was so windy there, luckily the wind was blowing the salty sea spray onto our backs so the camera lens was protected from the direct blast of spray, although by the time we left there I felt so sticky with sea salt and my jacket was covered in salt as was my camera body.

We stayed there until about 11.30am and then we decide to go find some breakfast as we had not eaten yet and were all very hungry.  However by the time we got to the cafe breakfast was over and so we had some sandwiches and cappuccino for lunch. Meal times are irregular on these workshops.

We went back to the B&B to clean our camera and lenses from the salt spray and to edit some photos, before heading out again later in the afternoon. We photographed various sites where there were shadows from the bright sunlight, trees and that kind of thing as other locations would not work in this weather. The avenue of beech trees at an old estate near Moor Crichel was photographed at sunset.

Tomorrow it is another 4.30am start and we are hoping for some cloud and possibly some mist.