POTD 2 June 2014 - The Fleet

[Mike Farley]

This has to be one of the most classic views in the country, looking out over The Fleet behind Chesil Beach towards the Isle of Portland. It is different every time that I see it and on this occasion the wind was producing waves within the Fleet and the light along the Portland shore had a lovely luminescence to it beneath the overcast sky.

[Paul Heester]

What a great landscape image. The green foreground and grey sky working well together. Loving the lead-in line of Chesil and the landscape format works very well.

[Mike Farley]

What a great landscape image. The green foreground and grey sky working well together. Loving the lead-in line of Chesil and the landscape format works very well.

Thanks, Paul. I posted something from the same location in my PAD project last year and while obviously there are similarities, the climatic conditions make it different. I did try shooting with a telephoto lens to concentrate on the waves and light around Portland, but none of the compositions worked as well as the overall view.

I also tried this as shot before cropping to remove much of the negative space formed by the sky. While that version gives a better impression of the place, it diminishes the impact of the way the light falls on the land. I found that making it into a panorama still retained much of what made the view so attractive and felt it was a worthwhile trade-off.

Once I have recovered from the "Great Computer Disaster of June 2014" and have a working desktop PC again, I'll try to remember to post the original image so that people can see the difference for themselves. It's something of a pain to be stuck inside when the weather is so glorious persuading my PC to behave itself.