Spring Equinox sunrise at Corfe Castle;
longer days and shorter nights begin!
Today is the first full day of spring with the Spring Equinox occurring yesterday just after 9am. As for every Solstice and Equinox I was there to capture the sunrise.
I was out of bed at 0430 to get in position by 0530 and ready for the sunrise at 0609. Arriving so much earlier allows for climbing the hill and find the ideal compositions before sunrise using sun tracking tools (more on those later). Arriving earlier is also essential as sometimes, when there is cloud cover, the best light happens just before the sun appears, just like with those magical red skies that happen after sunsets. On this day there were now clouds, all clear skies apart from a gentle morning haze and ground mist.
The low mist collects the light perfectly, allowing the shadows to form patterns around and through the castle as the sun rises in the sky behind it. I made a few subtle variations to my positioning, clambering over the brambles on the adjacent hill to align the light around the castle. Looking carefully at the photo selection you may be able to see where when I had climbed higher or moved across the hill to change my alignment with the sun and Corfe Castle
I feel it was all worth the effort and after a long recovery sleep I now have the photos to show for it. The first is a favourite and the rest that follow are in sequence with the rising sun.
Below is a selection of the photos following the spring equinox sun rise. Which is your favourite? Leave a comment and let me know.
All of these are available to purchase on my gallery: https://saintecroix.pic-time.com/-travels
Spring Equinox at Corfe Castle; Behind the Scenes.
I chose Corfe Castle as my location for Spring Equinox due to the ideal sun alignment at this time of year. To research locations I use Sun Surveyor (app) and Sun Calc (website) as well as past experience based on my adventures. I was looking for points of interest that would align with the rising sun as well as ease of access so early in the morning. Some others would have required a wild camp which I love when given the availability.
On the Equinox, both spring and autumn, the sunrise and sunset are exactly aligned; the sun rises in the East and sets in the West. That only happens on the two equinox days in each year. For all other days that the transitions of light between night and day instead appear in the north and south hemispheres. In the winter that means sunrise is in the south east and the sunset is in the south west. Much shorter days with the sun low in the sky, rising, traveling and setting in the south. For the summer the days are much longer with the sun rising in the north east and travelling a lot further and higher through the southern sky and then setting in the north west. The spring Equinox marks the day when this begins with the daytimes becoming longer than the night time. So if you are a light lover like me you’ll also be happy when the spring equinox comes around.
Images:
1: Yellow line is sunrise and orange is sunset showing a direct east to south line, the only times this happens is on the days of the spring and autumn equinox. You can see the path of the sun below.
2. The daylight is now 12h10min. Spring Equinox marks the point that daylight time is longer than the night time.
3. Showing the various changing light through out the day. Applications differ but generally the golden hour falls during the phase the sun passes the horizon with blue light before (AM) or after (PM).
4. A portrait composition of the scene during the Spring equinox sunrise at Corfe Castle.
Thank you for reading my blog post.
Please don’t forget that all of the photograph I captured are available to purchase on my gallery: https://saintecroix.pic-time.com/-travels
There you can create prints, canvas etc. All the labs selected are the very best that exist.
I use these labs for my clients in my professional photographer work as a Adam de-Ste-Croix Photographer
And don’t forget to comment on your favourite!
(Also should I add a “buy me a coffee” button or is that cheesy?”)
3 responses
Incredibly beautiful photography. Makes me feel like I was there.
Amazing photography! Photos are just mesmerising. I don’t know if I really have a favourite, but I do like the effect as the sun starts to rise and produces streams of light across the castle. You have a truly special talent Adam!
Amazing as always Adam, the photos are haunting yet beautiful. A truly fantastic photographer.