Solstice sunset timelapse at Rye Harbour

Being that it was summer solstice day and clear weather, I thought that it would be rude not to go out with the camera! :)

I knew that the sunset wouldn’t perfectly align with the red-roofed hut at Rye Harbour, but I thought I’d go anyway and see what I could get.

The red-roofed hut is one of the most popular landmarks in Rye and is regularly photographed.

I visited Rye Harbour a few weeks back and saw some bioluminescence in the sea. Whilst it wasn’t enough to capture on camera, it was still an enjoyable watch.

There is something very peaceful about Rye and it’s becoming one of my favourite spots to relax with the camera.

I had the choice of three things in mind that I could potentially photograph: the obvious sunset, some potential bioluminescence (although it was low tide, so the chances were reduced) or the Milky Way.

The moon has gone now, but the nights are short and the sun is still very close to the horizon after setting, so June doesn’t provide the darkest nights.

As it turned out, just after sunset there were some beautiful orange clouds floating past the red rooftop, so I decided to timelapse them. There was also a very strong yellow glow on the horizon, probably the best I have seen so far.

After taking the timelapse, I went back to my car and swapped cameras over as I have a 35mm F1.4 on my Nikon Z6 which I sometimes like to use for nightscape photography.

I took a walk down to the beach, but the tide was too far out for me to get close to the sea to look for bioluminescence (forgot my wellies!). After wandering around for an hour or so, I decided that I’d rather get the Milky Way on another day when the sun is further below the horizon. These late-night drives home can get difficult and I didn’t think the outcome would be worth the risk of staying out to 2-3am.

Red-roofed hut timelapse below: