Handfast Point & The Pinnacles

This striking landmark which strides outwards into the ocean between Swanage & Studland Bays, Dorset, is an all-pervading presence when visiting the area. Its unique shape and profile dominates the views from beaches, hilltops and of course even more dramatically from right up close on the sea itself.

Here I am trying to create an impression based on widely differing perspectives, as I found myself coming at this landmark from so many different angles. The lighting and times of day have a dramatic impact also, but one thing remains constant - you can't avoid taking notice of the Old Harry Rocks and Pinnacles at Handfast Point!

All photos with the K7, and lenses as described for each shot ....



1) Middle Beach, Studland Estate ... DA 18-55 AL WR, f8 / ISO 200








2) From Boat near Swanage Bay eastern head .... 'M' 75-150 f4, f5.6 / ISO 400







3) Knoll Beach, Studland Estate .... DA 18-55 AL WR, f4 / ISO 200







4) From Boat, Studland Bay, east of the headland .... 'M' 75-150 f4, f5.6 / ISO 400







5) East looking from Peveril Point, Swanage (Western Head) .... 'M' 75-150 f4, f11 / ISO 100







6) The Pinnacles from the top of Handfast Point headland, west looking .... 'M' 75-150 f4, f11 / ISO 100





Thanks for seeing these, and for you thoughts and feedback . Nigel.

Just decided to add another one in here, as it fits this series and I probably won't show more of these rocks from so far away ...



7) East looking from Peveril Point, Swanage (Western Head) .... 'M' 75-150 f4, f16 / ISO 100 ... Taken from near the same spot as photo 5.







And another, what the heck! I'm on a roll


8.) Middle Beach, Studland Estate .... DA 18-55 AL WR, f5.6 / ISO 200 ... this one is from a spot near to where photo 1 was taken

I like these images Nigel, and particularly the impression of depth in 1 and 6. In 2 the sky looks a rather unnatural blue colour to me - I would expect a shade more towards cyan, as in 1 and 3.

Cheers.
Philip

Thanks Philip, I'm not sure about that one from the boat, as to why the sky is different. The lighting angle is very different, and I can see different tones on the yellow grasses as well, but I rather liked them when I was processing it. I haven't tired to match tones between the shots, they're all such different perspectives on the same subject. Sorry, you may have missed the last two which I was posting just as your post came in!

My favourites here are 5 and 7, because of the lovely soft light on the cliff face. The colours in the others are too strong for my taste, especially the blue clouds in 6, though the pinnacles make a great subject for the image, contrasting nicely with the background.
A lovely coastline, Nigel - thanks for making us aware of that!

Thanks John, the rock formations certainly seem to reproduce very well with the perspective of a telephoto, and I was very pleased to get that great early morning sunlight breaking through before it lit up everything.

#1 looks tropical Nigel. However like John 5 and 7 are my picks too

This is very dramatic scenery Nigel. In particular I really like the dramatic chalk needles. The colour is great.
David

PPG: http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/artists/davidtrout

A good set Nigel. Well photographed.

Best regards

Good effort getting out and finding those locations, it looks fabulous.
I like number 5; nice muted colours and because it looks the least fiddled-with.
Most look a little over-sharp, particularly the distant objects and sea which can't (shouldn't) be that sharp due to the amount of atmosphere in the way. It's robbing them of perspective and some of the colours are a bit queer and contrasty for my taste.

Thanks! I'm really glad it looks like that


Thanks Alan ... yes, tropical is an apt description at times in this part of the world ... well, you have to remember that the south Dorset coast is considerably nearer to the equator than Blyth Beach

Thanks also to David, Gary and Mark for those comments ...

Mark, thanks for the feedback. I prepare my main max quality jpeg for large prints, then I just do a resizing for web with bicubic sharper - this may be why they look sharp on the screen, but I must admit I do like very sharp images. I'm not sure what you mean about them being 'fiddled with' .. I carry out fairly standard sorts of processes, and aim for clarity and a good bit of 'punch' in the processing.And finally what do you mean by 'contrasty' colours - if its something I can look at and adjust then I'd be glad to try it.

Ha ha, sorry that didn't come across well did it.
I do genuinely mean good effort finding those locations. That is half the job right there
I think the pictures are nice and I found it frustrating that the processing had rather taken over from the image (for me).
This business of sharpening on resize has come up numerous times. As soon as I noticed photoshop had adopted this ridiculous default years ago, I posted here explaining how to turn it off.
Some of the the colours (blues mainly) do seem unnatural and over-contrasty. Not sure how to quantify this? Just how I am viewing it. It's a subjective thing and if the prints come out the way your monitor is displaying them then it's all good

Thanks Mark ... I tend to process fairly sharply quite early into the chain ... Maybe I should switch to just 'bicubic' mode in the web-size plugin?