The South Downs though the seasons (part 1 of 2)

Seaford, East Sussex
Originally uploaded by jfsouto

As a new project for this year, I have decided to visit my favourite portion of the southern coastline (from Seaford to Eastbourne, covering most of the coastal segment of the South Downs National Park) through each of the seasons. This time, I walked from Seaford to Cuckmere Haven and back. Next spring I will do the whole of Cuckmere Haven and Exceat. Summertime will be reserved to the Seven Sisters and finally in autumn I will do the portion from the Birling Gap to Beachy Head (where the National Park officially terminates) and Eastbourne.

Over the next few days, I will be posting pictures from my first trip on chronological order. The first one is of this hut, on the Seaford promenade. It was very windy when I arrived in mid-morning, as you can gather from the hair and scarf of the girl. This was taken with the k-5 in Av and the Vivitar 70-210mm at about 100mm, prefocused on the hut.

Rough waters
Originally uploaded by jfsouto

Today's walk starts in the Seaford seafront and goes up the Vanguard way, which includes a bit of an steep ascent through the cliffs (more on that on the way back). Still in Seaford, "Rough waters" was taken mid-morning among very strong winds. Exposure mode was TAv (kind of manual with auto ISO), used with a relatively fast speed to freeze the waves. This was pre-focused on the beacon.

Continuing the walk along the Vanguard way, "Seat with a view" was taken at the beginning of the descent towards Cuckmere Haven, where the Cuckmere river meets the English Channel. Used the Vivitar telephoto from a low level (knees) in order to show as much as possible the bench agains the sea. The background includes the first 4 of the 7 sisters. One of the good things about doing this walk during winter, particularly on a day with rough winds, is that it was nearly entirely devoid of other walkers. Thus, I was able to take this picture without having to wait long time for people to move away.

Seat with a view
Originally uploaded by jfsouto

After a nice lunch at a local pub (the Golden Galleon) near Exceat, I start my way back to Seaford. While the morning was mostly overcast and windy, the second half of the day was much more pleasant, with some sunny spells even (most of them, though, while I was having lunch!). This lonely three in "Shades of green" is my only colour picture of the day. Taken with the Vivitar at 210mm and f8 to ensure maximum sharpness of the subject.

Shades of green
Originally uploaded by jfsouto