December 2017

December 2017

Well, it is the end of another month and another year. December has been a little bit quiet for my photography, as it has been too dark for me to get out in the mornings before I start work. That said, the weekends have been kind to me and I have been lucky with the weather then.

Snow and mist seemed to be a recurring theme this month, which of course I was really  pleased about. On the 3rd December we had one of those misty starts to the day that last most of the morning. I headed to a a piece of very tidy woodland that I have had my eye on for a few months. I have visited five or six times but I never managed to get a image from there. I knew it would work best in winter and it needed mist to make it work. The conditions were perfect for what I wanted and I managed to get a few shots that I was happy with.

The snow was a little bit of a surprise. Snow was forecast, but nowhere near as much as we got. On top of the hills we had about 7 inches, which is the deepest that I have seen it for a good number of years. I was out most of the day trying to make it around to all the locations that I wanted to visit and was happy with the results, some of which you can see below…

Thanks to all of you for your continuing support of my work. Wishing you a very happy 2018!

May 2017

From Wild Garlic to Orchids

May is such a wonderful month here in Buckinghamshire, as I am sure it is in other places around the UK. I think the transformation of landscape during May is quite amazing, resulting in a glorious green land. The vibrant colour of the new beech leaves is a particular favourite of mine. It’s a shame the colour only last for a couple of weeks.

Most of the first part of the month I spent in one location concentrating on wild garlic. Back in March I spotted a few patches of wild garlic growing, and made a note to return in May when I knew it would be in flower. Visiting the location every morning over two weeks, I enjoyed getting to know the area, even though most mornings the light was pretty flat. Even on the brighter days the light did not penetrate through the thick canopy where I wanted it to. All of these visits and exploring were important to me, so I knew where I needed to be when the conditions where good. Eventually the conditions were right and managed to capture what I wanted one Friday morning about 5.30am in the rain. The image was well received on social media and it looks great as a print.

As much as I like this time of year I also start to find it harder to photograph woodland and the landscape. The woodland I love in the winter becomes too green and overgrown for my liking. Because of this I start to turn my lens to the smaller things like orchids and butterflies, that start to begin to appear in May. I am lucky to have some locations near by that are home to some pretty rare orchids, so I started visiting these location in the later part of the month. Some of these orchids only grow in three locations in the UK and one of them is a hybrid that is unique to the location. Although this is not typically landscape photography they are a important part of my landscape. Besides I do find photographing something a little different rewarding.

Bucks Open Studios

During May I have also been really busy getting prepared for Bucks Open Studios, which is of course taking place next mouth. I will be opening up my home to visitors who what to come and see my work. I will be open for three weekends in June, so it will be great to see anyone who wants to come and visit me.

Here are some of my favourite images from May.