I'm putting this one down to lack of planning...

For a few weeks now I've been wanting to try some new things with my photography, exploring new locations, experimenting with new lighting techniques and just improving my work and showcasing it to you all.

Well today I made a step forward in my plan, I've been planning to take a trip to Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove; now when I say "planning" I mean it in the loosest term...

I google maps'd it, saw how far it was, saw there were buses going to and from the station etc but what I didn't think about was looking at the times of the buses, so when I arrived at the train station I was surprised to see the bus only runs every 2 hours!

Well being me and the energetic person that I am, I started to walk it, thinking that if I did eventually encounter the bus I'd just hop on and it would take me to the location. So I started walking, and kept walking for about 45mins, then I noticed the Sun start to set in the sky, it was getting lower and lower in the sky, I thought if I am going to keep walking, i'll probably get there after Sunset and there'll be no point in that.

So I turned back, and lucky I did, when I arrived back at the station the Sun was setting in the sky, creating such beautiful colours across the sky but being in the countryside I had no idea how much the temperature drops after the Sun goes down, yeah in Poole, you feel it a little bit, but where I was at the time was ridiculous, it was so bad and so sudden, I started coughing really badly (I have asthma by the way!)

Anyway, the trip was not a complete failure, I learned a few things so that my next trip will hopefully be a success.

1. Make sure to research timings, train timings, bus timings, and most importantly Sunset timings!
2. I think the next time I attempt to make this trip I will definitely give myself more time, I really thought it would be a simple trip, just up the road and I'd be there but I guess that goes back into planning and looking at timings
3. I'm also going to pack light next time, today I brought with me an assortment of lenses, unsure of which lens would be most fitting for the scene, next time - 1 camera and one lens.
4. and finally... Always Always Always bring some spare cash with you, you never know when you'll be lost in the middle of nowhere and need to hail a cab!

And here is a picture of the Sunset I captured today - I know it's not amazing but it's a start towards something that will be!