Finding the characters of your stories
Woodland photography IS difficult. The parameters required to get something like a good image often make my brain hurt, which to be fair, shouldn’t require much as it is quite a small object! I am not one to blow my own trumpet but I do consider myself to be fairly adept at it after nearly six years of honing this particular genre. There are indeed, many out there that are far better at it too. I won’t name names as I wouldn’t want to offend anyone I miss out, but suffice it to say that the genre is stacked with talent
Strongman. Note the position of the two main boughs making him look like he is posing in a Mr Universe contest
So along with keeping your image borders tidy, searching for depth, getting the light right, hunting out mist and fog to give your woodland scenes more depth, focus stacking, exposure bracketing, scene balance, scouting and a mind melting load of other factors, the one thing I look for the most is character. I love nothing more than a tree that stands out from those around it. This may be because it is a different species such as Bruce, the mighty 500 year old oak who is now surrounded by a woodland of Poplar trees.
Bruce, the mightiest of the oaks I know
You also want to seek out the oddly shaped trees too. When looking for character quite often you will find some really warped fellows hidden away in an inoccuous section of woodland such as this misshapen hulk I spotted lurking among its brethren.
All twisted and gnarly, makes for a great subject
But the ones I enjoy finding and photographing the most are the trees with faces. Yup, you read that correctly! On the odd accasion, in the right light, with just the right amount of gnurls and holes and missing chunks of bark, you will find a face hidden omong the trees. I sometimes dont even see them until I get them up on my PC screen but subconciously my brain is picking up on them when I am wandering around the woodlands. Take Eddie for instance. Now when I took the image, I didn’t really notice the face with its baleful glare. But as soon as I got it up on a larger screen I instantly spotted the iconic Iron Maiden mascot, Eddie staring back at me from the shapes in the ancient oak. But can you see it too?
Eddie with one baleful eye.
So when you are out and about among your local woods see if you can spot the characters from the supporting cast. I promise you, they are in there, just waiting for their chance to shine!
Can you spot the sleeping oak here?
You can book me for a woodland workshop where I would be happy to help you improve your chances of capturing one of these lovely characters that dwell within the glades. please email me here
Thats it for this week.
Toodles