I have to admit that when I arrived at Durdle Door around 4pm, I was not confident of a decent sunset. The place was quite busy, with people walking up and down to the beach with their iPhones in hand and I wondered whether the shot I wanted to get would even be possible. I have always loved the staircase that sweeps around from the top of the cliff to the beach, and there is one view where you can capture it sweeping around beneath your feet and guiding both your eyes and feet to the sea. This image requires risk, and you have to hand off of the edge of a steep hill at a 45 degree angle where you wedge yourself hard against the face. I waited and waited but the tourists wouldn't leave. I was growing impatient. That was when Mark turned up and set up besides me. I had never met him before and it seems that this spot on the very top of Durdle Door seems a great place to meet people. Last week it was Rich, now Mark. We chatted for a while before I made my way down the steep rock face to where I would get my shot. As I set up, planting my tripod as firmly as I could into the bank, I noticed that the sky was turning colourful. Maybe I would get the shot I wanted. Now, all that was left was to wait for the tourists to piss of. With about half an hour before sundown, they littered the staircase like wasps around a bin, equally as annoying too. I checked my composition, took a long exposure test shot and checked the results. My feet ached where I was on such a steep bank that I had to wedge them into a rabbit hole just to stay in position and not fall off. The composition was good, as was the effect I was getting on the sea. Another guy turns up, iPhone in hand and proceeds to take a literal barrage of images from the same spot, right in front of me on the steps. I was going to have to get violent. Eventually, as the sun poured itself into the sea, iPhone guy and the rest of the wasps disappeared, the biting cold finally too much for them. I had my shot, I had my chance. This is the result.
Under A Dying Sun
