Being motivated to take photographs when the conditions aren't that special can be hard. You have to stick with it.
Once a year we make a pilgrimage to the National Trusts Ashridge Estate in Buckinghamshire about the time the bluebells flower. A huge unbroken carpet of blue stretches out through the ancient woodland. It's a superb photo opportunity. It's always busy when we go so we try to get there before too many people arrive. This year we got there before the sun turned up as well, and, judging by what some people were saying when we got our coffee, it wasn’t going to come at all.
We are usually quite lucky with the weather, but not this time. It can only be described as cold, grey and gloomy, and, as we walk I am not hopeful. Not only because there is not much in the way of light, but because so far there has not been much in the way of Bluebells either.
I never really know where I am as I wander round here. Once I enter the tree line and the cars are out of sight I am lost. It doesn't help that that I can never just walk. I am always thinking about pictures. I see stuff and go over to take a look, at which point I will see something else and go and take a look at that and so on. All the while taking no notice of where I am going.
I took a few shots of the trees, a bit halfheartedly. I tend to think that they are a setting for something else or at best as part of a wider landscape.
Fallen trees look like a good subject but really they aren't. Once upon a time they used to be the sort of thing that was juxtaposed with a Pirelli calendar model and somehow the idea persists that this makes them worth photographing in their own right. I quickly reminded myself that they are not. I have had more than a few disappointments photographing such things. Two days later and you are looking at an image of a bit of moldy tree on your laptop asking yourself “why on earth did I take that ?” .
I suspect that it is because there is a huge tree that you would normally look up at, 30 feet or more above your head. Now it is right there on the ground,at your feet. Almost as if you had climbed it. You get a rush of blood to your shutter button finger. Resist. You must resist. Least that's what I think. So I keep moving.
The worst thing that can happen to me as I walk is to come across a Deer. I will try to stalk it in the hope of getting a worthwhile picture. I don’t know why I bother. It is never going to happen. The best I will ever get is a Deers arse bounding away from me.
It usually goes something like this. I spot a deer and stop instantly. I confirm that it's not close enough for a picture by looking through the viewfinder. I know it's not, even before I do this, but I go through the ritual anyway. I lower the camera and move toward the deer very slowly. The deer is not fooled. I can almost hear it saying “You do know I can see you, are you seriously trying to get within 50 feet of me” “I step carefully toward them. Come on, come on, a little closer they are saying, just a bit more, you know you want that picture. “You’re nearly there, now just raise your camera, and when you bring the viewfinder to your eye …... I will be gone”.
I take the camera away quickly in disbelief and stifle an expletive. The deer has gone, but only far enough to make me think it's worth having another go.
I gave up trying a few years ago. Now Like a spurned lover I just pretend I haven't seen them. They are desperate now and getting really pissed off with me. This year they were juggling fire sticks and doing keepie uppie but my camera stayed down.
We walk on and the human tide can be heard rising, coming through the trees towards us, propelling Phil and Ted Buggies and flanked by Dalmatians and Labradoodles. If I am going to get a picture of any sort today it has to be soon.
The terrain is not difficult around Ashridge. Not at all. The biggest obstacles were ruts that had been created by a Land Rover and which had then filled with rainwater. Because I had waterproof boots on I deliberately walked through them. I could have easily gone round or even stepped over. But No. Now I could justify having changed out of my trainers. My wife looked on gently shaking her head. I tried not to look smug as I watched others forced to go 5 or 6 feet out of their way
Still no Bluebells but there was the sound of a Woodpecker. It was drumming close by. We stopped and waited. There it was again. I turned my head slightly to try and be more certain about the direction. Definitely in front. And high. A few more drums and now a small crowd had gathered all trying to see it. Adults pointed and urged their children to look at something that could not be seen. It was in a tree that had long since died.There were no leaves but still we could not see it. We all waited and watched. A shadowy bird flew away in the opposite direction. A dipping flight. No more drumming was heard. I wondered if the woodpecker knew the deer.
Mid morning and If anything it was getting darker now. I knew I had missed the best part of the day. I would love to be a hard core Landscape photographer but I can't really do the dawn ramble. I think that it is possible to get a great image at any time of day. You have to pick out some light and shadow and accept that one or the other is going to get lost. To me that doesn’t matter. And it is amazing what a half decent JPEG will give you in Lightroom. Today though, no Light, no contrast and I am still searching for the bluebells..
And then there they were. Perhaps not as many as I had seen in previous years. We might be too early in the season or they are a bit late. I hope it's one or the other and not overexposure to human beings.
They are truly magnificent. I was working with a wide angle lens and It distanced the bluebells, reducing their impact in the frame. I searched for a shot. The blue bells were a bit subdued in the light but I noticed the younger trees seemed to stand out a bit. The fresh new leaves seemed to be really effective at collecting light at low levels. They contrasted with the older established trees as if they are getting their growing done before the canopy overhead takes their light.
I switch to a telephoto hoping to get some compression and pack some colour into the frame. Big mistake. So many out of focus flowers plus handheld at low shutter speeds equals camera shake. Especially post coffee. Should have known better and carried a tripod. Schoolboy error.
There's a particular spot that we always find our way too. It holds memories for my wife of her Father. It's the real reason that we come. Once there we stay a while. It's away from the footpaths so other do not pass through. There are only a few bluebells around. It was here that I found my picture. Not the one I had planned but the one I was happiest with. Its of a solitary plant in a clearing. Not the masses I had intended.
I had switched lenses again and I shot on a 50mm lens wide open. Partly for the speed and partly to lose the background a bit. At F1.4 The depth of field is so shallow that even 10 feet from the plant focussing on the stems meant that the flower heads were out of focus. I had to shut down a few stops. The slower shutter then meant that even a tiny breeze produced subject movement. I only got one shot out of a dozen or so frames. I am not the least bit disappointed that it was a compromise on what I had hoped for. Sometimes you can only work with what you have and not what you want.
So I got a picture and dirty knees (See camera angle ). Dry feet though, so that's good. I took about 50 photos covering 9 different spots. It's easy to lose heart when everything on the back of your camera looks as dull as dishwater. You have to persevere. The fact that no one is making you take pictures and no consequences for coming away without one makes it easy to just put the lens cap on and go and get a coffee. I always think that grinding one out regardless makes me a better photographer.
We made our way back to the visitor centre where there were queues for everything and especially coffee. Time to go. We loaded up the car and bequeathed our parking spot to a man who asked really politely if we were leaving. I maneuvered out tactically to ensure he wasn't gazumped as others circled hoping to get the drop on him. It's amazing how perfectly reasonable people can become feral over a parking space. As we drove away I thought about the Deer. I reckon that next year they will be performing Les Miserables.