A couple more from last week's New Forest trip

Very early sun in the New Forest

Light through the trees

A final farewell to 2020 Milky Way season? Plus a bonus sunrise

 Decided to make use of an empty Sunday night and head down to the South Coast to get a milky way shot. Forecast was for clear skies, with fog in the morning.

So I decided on a double-header- MW in the evening (10pm ish), then down to Dorset to try to capture the elusive Corfe Castle mist shot.

Milky Way session went well, although the sky was quite hazy along the horizon. Got some tracked shots of the sky and some foreground shots for stacking. The results are a little muddy, but still look OK.

Milky Way, Saturn, Jupiter and a meteor over the English Channel

I headed on to Dorset, had a few hours sleep in the car, then climbed West Hill in thick fog (very hopeful!). There were about 10 people up there by the time dawn hit (06:45), but still no sign of the sun. Just a few meters visibility and it was cold and damp up there.

A guy had a drone and flew up just 40m above us, from where the view was epic! A lovely view across the valley, with just the tops of the distant hills popping out above the fog, the sun spilling orange light over the fog, which was rolling over and down the hills. No sign of the castle though.

Waited until about 9, and although the sun was breaking through, there was no sign of the low-lying fog clearing, so I headed home, via the New Forest. By now all the fog/mist had gone, so the morning shots were a bit of a bust. 

I checked the Corfe Webcam on the way home and it seemed like the sun finally beat the fog at about 10:30. I could have stayed, but the shot wouldn't have been great as the sun was so high. Oh well- another day!

Waiting for the fog to clear

Fogbow behind us

THE shot of the castle!

The shot I wanted!

Breaking the lockdown blues in the New Forest

Been stuck at home for a few months due to lockdown and lack of funds, but got myself out early this morning hoping to catch some autumnal mist in the New Forest.

My destination was Rockford, to capture a classic view of the heather and (hopefully) some mist in the valley behind. Weather conditions looked promising, with a clear night and a still, clear morning.

On arrival (and on the journey down), there was no sign of mist and the sky was looking cloudy. Lots of gaps in the cloud though and a faint glow on the Eastern horizon an hour before sunrise, so I was optimistic for nice conditions, even if there was no mist. 

I found "the spot" without too much trouble, although it doesn't look anywhere near as dramatic without the mist.

Happy with the shots I got, and I headed off to Bolderwood Drive to get some shots of the morning sun coming through the trees. I'll certainly be back to try to get the elusive mist and to capture the autumn colours when they properly come through in the coming weeks....

Sunrise over the heather

Sunrise over the New Forest

Sunlight through the trees

Sunlight through the trees