Exploring the landscape on the doorstep of my new home with my camera
I don't know about you, but at this time of year, when it rains nearly every day in England, and the days when it's not raining, it's still really, really grey. It's hard to find the enthusiasm to get out with your camera. You look out the window and the light is flat, and the colour borders on monotone; not remotely inspiring.
Well, you know, today I decided to stick on my wellies and go out regardless. I took my camera out on its own, with my Kase magnetic 6-stop filter, just in case the desire to do some ICM struck, but otherwise nothing more (no bag, no backup) – Quick caveat if you do go out paired to the minimum make sure you have a full battery and an empty card in the camera!
The reason why I went out regardless of uninspiring weather, was because I looked out my window and something intrigued me… the way that the cloud was wisping across the top of the fir trees that are on the hill opposite my house. Something so simple, but captivating, I just love the layering effect that it makes and the constant change it creates.
This is the view from my house up the valley with my 24-200mm lens (at 200mm)
While out, I dictated a few notes into my phone to remind me what I was seeing, but also to slow me down at the time. I find writing notes or thinking about what I am seeing and putting into words really helps the process – so here is what I noted at the time as I walked up the hill.
“I'm looking at trees as I speak and I'm fascinated by the layers. It may be really grey out here, but in front of me, I've got green lichen covered trees, and silver birches. They run into some sort of purply dead looking fir trees, and then layered behind them are some sort of fluffy middle brown fir trees. And then there are Christmas trees popping out in the middle, which is still dark green. And then behind them, the mist is just wafting between. And then the top of the tree line is fascinating because I thought it was all just fir trees. But actually, when I look closer, some of these trees are quite clearly not evergreens. They're not fir trees. They've not got pointy tops.” This is my real time noting of what I was seeing.
It intrigued me what I was noticing, and I reflected that probably the average person would never see what I have just described – they would just see a wood of trees on a grey day.
My walk took me out of the village up to the woods, and as I walked, I stopped regularly to make images of the mist and cloud moving across the trees above and in front of me. Every second the cloud cover at the top of the hill, in between all the trees was changing. After 14 years in the Netherlands, where it's just completely flat, it’s a whole new experience to see a landscape ahead and above me.
I started my walk with my camera recording and seeing in colour. Earlier I detailed that I noted greens, browns and purples. Very quickly I realised that the sky had zero interest being covered in mist, so I made an early decision to leave it out of most images, or where it was included, to use it to accentuate the transition between woodland and sky. I also noticed that I was leaving out the base of the woodland and focussing more on the trees and mist.
As I explored the shapes and forms, I started to feel that the hints of colour were slightly distracting in the compositions I was creating. So, I popped my camera on to black and white. I love the graphite setting in my Nikon Z6II, it has a contrasty and gritty feel that I find accentuates the differences in light and dark and edge shapes well. As soon as I did this I felt myself concentrate even more on the shapes of the trees; noting ‘the pointy shapes, and the softer edges’.
I love walking from my house with no fixed route. Initially I planned on photographing the wood from the valley and doing a short loop. However, having gained some inspiration at the start of the walk, I decided to head up towards the top of the wood to explore what the wood might offer if I was among the trees. Interestingly the mist disappeared and colours caught my eye once again. Sometimes I think I’m like a magpie, gathering little jewels of photographs unable to settle on any one thing! This can be frustrating if I’m trying to work in a cohesive manner, but I also love that I still enjoy spontaneously reacting to whatever speaks to me – something I advocate in all my teaching and mentoring.
At the top of the hill, I found myself walking among the trees that formed the boundary between wood and sky. The mist hung in the air and there was an eerie empty and bare feeling. Once again, not stunning or obviously beautiful opportunities, but I loved the simplicity and emptiness and quiet I found, and tried to portray that in a couple of images I made.
Descending the hill, I looked over to my right and my breath was taken away – Across the valley, the cloud was drifting through the pine trees like curling smoke. A constant shift of the composition was taking place before my eyes. Still in black and white I simplified my compositions down to tree shapes and cloud whisps. I concentrated on exposing the images to ensure I could see detail within the trees throughout my compositions. I even made a video to try and portray this, as I was unsure if my still images were doing the scene justice.
Just when I thought I had my fill and I my house was in sight, I turned back towards the wooded hill behind me one more time through a gateway. Although I love loop walks so you don’t have to retrace your steps, there is something to be said for walking out and back, because you get completely different opportunities. The value of turning around just to check! Lower down once again, but at a different angle to that which I walked towards the wood initially, I noticed the V shaped valley and the folds of the trees like curtains across each other.
When I started my walk, I hoped that photographing the cloud through the woods would result in a few images that would suggest it wasn’t such a stupid idea I had! What I gained from my walk was so much more: inspiration, excitement, immersion, experimentation, exploration, a couple of hours out in nature and my step count for the day. Look out for more woodland cloud wispy photos! This could become a new fascination.
A compilation of images to enjoy this experience further on my YouTube channel
Since I took so many images during my walk, I decided to create a short video compilation to music for you to enjoy. This was really enjoyable to create: the story of my walk, with beautiful music that accentuates the feeling of silence, peace, loneliness, and immersion in an otherwise empty landscape. https://youtu.be/vXA_7fxFiJo
If you enjoy woodland photography. Why not check out another blog post that I wrote while still in the Netherlands https://charlottebellamy.com/autumn-photography-doesnt-need-to-be-complicated/
