Bite-Size Blog Post #40 - The Cobb - Dorset

A Return to The Cobb in Lyme Regis

I've been photographing The Cobb in Lyme Regis for nearly a decade now.  It's a location I keep returning to, but why?  As a landscape photographer I'm drawn to the natural beauty of wilderness and the coast.  However, The Cobb is a human-made structure and mostly made of stone.  It therefore doesn't fit into the category of natural beauty but yet it remains a compelling subject to photograph. 

The Cobb has three aspects to it that make it worth photographing.  Firstly, is its shape.  Rather than being a straight structure that juts out into the sea, it's distinctive S-shape snakes out into the sea.  When photographed from certain positions with a wide-angle lens, that S-shape can provide a very strong foreground subject. 

Next is the east to west direction the structure runs.  This makes it an ideal subject to photograph during winter when the sunrises from the southeast.  Light from the morning sun will bath the structure in glorious orange light, further highlighting the shape of The Cobb. 

The last thing that makes it worth photographing is its coastal location and how the sea interacts with it.  On calm days the water gently surrounds The Cobb making for wonderful longer exposures.  Perhaps my favourite time is when the waves crash up against The Cobb.  Freezing a wave as it hits the structure with a short exposure or capturing the trails of water flowing off The Cobb with a longer exposure can make for some really exciting photographs.  On those windy days there is a very real risk of getting wet or your camera gear is damaged, or even worse.  It can be a dangerous place, so caution is always advised. 

However, the morning I captured these photographs, everything was calm, and I experienced a lovely sunrise.   

Cobb Sunrise #1, Lyme Regis, Dorset - Nikon Z8, Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S at 14mm, f/22, 30 seconds at ISO 64, Kase Filters CPL.

Every visit to The Cobb gives me a slightly different photograph.  That's why I'll probably still be photographing it in another 10 years. You just never know what you’ll come away with.

Keep Calm and Embrace the Grey

It’s All About the Light

Over the years some of my best photos have been shaped by the light. I’m always seeking the type of light that will lift my compositions from looking a little dull and flat into something with texture, dimension and contrast. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that you can’t get good images in flatter light, but the images that I like creating often require good light to make them a little more special.

Winter in the UK can be a challenging time for photography. The weather can be rather unsettled and grey flat days tend to be the norm rather than the exception. With so much overcast weather I decided it was once again time to #EmbraceTheGrey and I knew just the place to go.

Right Subject for the Conditions

Back in December 2018, I had visited The Cobb and the image that I captured changed the way I viewed that location. Rather than a location I would only visit when the waves were big and the sky glorious, I really wanted to capture a photograph when it was all still, flat and overcast. I almost got what I was looking for on that visit but I actually wanted it to be even more overcast! I wanted it to be even greyer!

For some time now I’ve been hoping to get those very conditions so I could make the photograph that I had in my mind’s eye. When a recent weather forecast predicted the conditions I was looking for, I thought it was finally time to head back to The Cobb.

In my latest video below I will share with you the experience of going back to The Cobb to try and capture the image I had envisioned all those months ago. I’ll also show you how I post-processed it and how I printed it.

I do hope you enjoyed the video. Though I’ll always be chasing that glorious light, hopefully, this video has shown you that having a subject or location that you can embrace the grey with is not only useful but can also lead to some very pleasing images.

Do you have a favourite location where you #EmbraceTheGrey? Let me know in the comments below.

And finally, here is that image you saw me capture, print and frame.

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Embracing the Grey at The Cobb, Lyme Regis, Dorset - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 16mm, f/13, 182 seconds at ISO 64, Kase Filters CPL and 6 Stop ND

Printing Notes

In case you didn’t catch everything in the video, here is what I used to print the image:

• Printer - Canon Pixma Pro-10s (http://amzn.to/2Anrcj7)

• Software - Edited in Lightroom and printed using Canon Print Studio Pro

• Paper - Fotospeed’s Legacy Gloss 325 with custom ICC profile (https://www.fotospeed.com/Legacy-325/groupproduct/3103/) - one of my favourite papers!

• Frame - Picture Frames Express (https://www.pictureframesexpress.co.uk/)

A New Vision of The Cobb

Weather Obsession

I have to admit it, I'm obsessed with the weather.  More specifically, the weather forecast.  But what landscape photographer isn't slightly obsessed by the weather.  I'm constantly checking the forecast and looking for the best place to visit with the limited about of time that I have for my landscape photography.

After a few days of frankly terrible weather, it was going to take some pretty awful conditions to stop me heading out with the camera.   After much head scratching over the weather forecast I thought the best place to go would be The Cobb at Lyme Regis in Dorset.

It was a bit of a risk to go there given the predicted cloud cover. Either side of sunrise it was forecasting 100% cloud cover, but around sunrise itself, the cloud cover could drop to around 50%.  Combined with the direction of the rising sun, I was hoping to capture an image similar to this one I'd taken a while back.

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The Cobb vs The Sea, Lyme Regis, Dorset - Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4 at 22 mm, f/13, 0.6 secs at ISO 100, Lee Filters ND Grad.

Choose Life, Choose The Cobb

Before I carry on, I've just remembered that I created one of my 5 Minute Photo Adventure videos from The Cobb, so if you want to see what it looks like, then check out the video below.  You can also read the blog article for that video here.

Anyway, back to the story of my most recent visit.  When I arrived in Lyme Regis, the weather was as forecast and cloud coverage looked to be 100%.  As I walked from the car and approached The Cobb I could see that I wasn't the only photographer that high hopes for capturing a good image that morning.

As I setup my camera and took my first few shots, I suddenly changed my mind on the type of shot that I wanted.  Rather than trying to repeat the type of shot I showed you earlier, I decided the image below was the style of image I wanted to capture that morning.

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A New Vision of The Cobb, Lyme Regis, Dorset - Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4 at 24 mm, f/13, 30 secs at ISO 64.

The calm waters, overcast sky, the colour of the water and long exposure all add up to a very different, but still pleasing image.  Normally I like to capture the drama of the sea at The Cobb, but that morning called for something different. 

As soon as I saw the image on the back on the screen on my D850 I realised that I had been missing out on some creative compositions at this location.  I would definitely have to visit when the conditions were like this again.

After a short while, a break in the cloud started appearing in the distance, and the mood of the scene changed.  Normally I'm happy when the cloud starts breaking up, but in this instance, I wanted the cloud cover to stay at 100%!  With the gap in the cloud, the serenity and calmness of the scene was broken.

It was an interesting morning for me.  My previous visits to The Cobb had gradually embedded into my mind the type of image I should capture there.  This visit broke all that and I left with a renewed sense of excitement about returning to The Cobb on the next grey and overcast day!

Have you had a similar experience?  Have you had your perception of a favourite location changed by weather?  Let me know in the comments below.