I will just stick to what I do best
It is easy to avoid things that you are no good at. But that is everything to start with. My kryptonite is woodland photography. I will have a damn good go at it, but I panic when confronted with really good light and no composition to aim my camera at. Well, they are all around me - I tell myself that it is an easy task. Look around you, shots are everywhere. That is what happened in my latest YouTube video.
I get a bit tired of shooting the same old places though, and I haven’t escaped this country for the last two years - because of you know what….but this year has been different.
Trying out new things
Collaborating with my friends Pablo Rodriguez, Jamie Fielding and Louise Welcome has been really good for my photography and general enthusiasm. Photography can be pretty lonely, and talking to my camera in my YouTube videos doesn’t count as meaningful company! Meeting up with like-minded people, who also turn out to be really good photographers, always makes for a good day out with the camera. Jamie is the expert at woodland photography, that is his niche. This year I have been lucky enough to be under his wing whilst he shows me some of his favourite locations and talks me through his compositions and outlook on photography. I don’t think my woodland photography is good enough yet to start creeping into my landscape photography portfolio, so I put them here in this blog until I think they are ready. I continue to edit my images how I do my ‘traditional’ landscapes - but there are a few tips and tricks that I still need to master for woodland editing.
If you have the opportunity, meet up with other photographers, share your stories, your experience and we can all learn off one another.
Seeing the wood through the trees
This old saying is so apt for woodland photography. There is so much noise, fallen trees, overlapping branches, patchy light, which makes it difficult to hone in on a composition. Mist helps. It removes some of the depth and lets you concentrate on the immediate foreground, but that is always on the move as well. Mist is also difficult to predict. I have ventured out in search of mist, as predicted by the weather apps, only to be met with fog, low lying clouds, or a complete lack of any atmosphere at all - clear blue skies. Not so photogenic.
When you do get mist, it tends to pool into valleys, and it will quickly get dissipated by the sun - so you have to be quick. My advice is to have a composition already in mind, and keep trying that location. But of course, seasons change and that composition might not work for every lighting situation. But bookmark the locations using the what3words app for future reference.
The Lone Tree
It’s just too easy to keep photographing that single tree. That minimal shot. I have quite a few of them in my portfolio. But even when that tree has loads of character, massive exposed roots that lead you into the image, a gnarly trunk and branches - its still just a photo of a tree. I need to get away from this, as it is easy pickings and is a bit one-trick-pony. If you are looking to spice things up a bit, they look really good in infrared!
I will go back when its golden
This year, more than any before, I am really looking forward to photographing woodland in the autumn. In the past I have visited some notorious national trust locations, such as Sheffield Park and Wakehurst Place, as they have a lovely variety of trees - and combine that with buildings and water features; both are great locations to visit with your camera.
But the easier they are to get to, the more people have them in their portfolio. I can recognise photos taken at both of the above locations easily. I have also been to the Kingston Lacey road of trees near Dorset, a famous tree line following an undulating (busy) road, as well as Colmers Hill. There is also a lovely collection of trees in Stanmer Park near Brighton that attracts mist in the morning. One day I will go to the famous tree line in Ireland, I believe it has been a backdrop to quite a few movies, one for the bucket list.
Kingston Lacey - Near Dorset
Colmers Hill
That said, I will be turning my back on all the honeypot locations this year and getting lost in some local woodland. It won’t be easy, but practice makes perfect. I am always up for new challenges, and there is no better way of pushing yourself than being accountable.
Accountable to other photographers that you are out shooting with, or your audience, in my case followers of my YouTube videos. If I don’t deliver on this promise, call me out!
One last thing
I realise that the drone saved me on that misty morning. The scene looked great at eye-level, but even better from up in the sky. I will be making sure that the drone is packed for each of those visits to the woods, as it provides you with a completely different perspective for your photography. It also sets the scene for many of my YouTube videos, to give the viewers an idea of where I am that day.
It’s good to get out
And of course, it is good to get out. I like heading down to the beach with my camera, but the woods is a different experience altogether. It’s more intimate, and there is more scope for unique images. I know that many others also struggle with woodland photography, so join in on my social media and we can learn along the way.
Thanks for reading!
Ben
