Rock Face

Geology is often the key to understanding a landscape: its shape, its biology and its relationship with those other vital elements of water and sky. Many landscape photographers have more than a passing interest in this component of their subject matter. Perhaps it is therefore unsurprising that so many of us are drawn to making images of rocks themselves.

Jurassic Limestone, Burton Bradstock, Dorset - February 2023

Making images of rock faces is an area of my photographic practice that remains a constant. I am never bored on a rocky beach because I know I will eventually find either a natural sculpture or a recurring pattern that will draw my mind’s eye and provide me with food for my thoughts. Whether the subject is the grand face of a mountain or a more modest piece of cliff, there will be drama to capture and a story to find.

I made this particular image during a winter walk along the Jurassic coast at Burton Bradstock in Dorset. A geologist would tell you that it shows the sedimentary layers of Inferior Oolite that are so characteristic of this part of the southern English coast. But I was drawn by the sculpture of a face with a broken nose and seemingly raffish quiff of hair. This face seems to be angry, perhaps fed up with the constant battering of winter storms.

Making these kinds of images of rock faces is relatively straightforward. The most obvious challenge lies in ensuring that the light is falling so that it brings out the contours of the image while at the same time not being so harsh as to create impenetrable shadows.

It should also be emphasised that these kinds of cliff faces are potentially hazardous, especially if they are prone to erosion and subsequent rock falls. In 2012, a young woman died near this particular cliff when a rock fall occurred without any prior warning - so do take care and don’t assume that a rock face is forever.