So I have been to Iceland but did not see the Aurora Borealis as it was too cloudy. I did fly from Portland, Oregon to Reykjavík and saw the lights somewhere over the Northern Territories and Greenland. My next Aurora Borealis experience was a recreated one in Birmingham City Centre. This event was really cool even though it was man made.
The chances of seeing a full blown Northern Lights show anywhere outside of Iceland or Norway were going to be low. Friday 10th May and the Aurora watch said chances were high but I was out for dinner and I was thinking of an early Saturday start to photograph the end of the bluebells season.
When we got back home, I went out in the garden and looked North as the BBC news channel instructions stated. Sandy said I had North wrong and I should look more to my right. I stayed out past 11.30pm and took a few pictures. At first nothing seemed to be showing, possibly there was a faint green glow. My camera showed some streaks on the right. I reorientated myself to the North East view and took a picture. At first I thought the camera was having a problem. There were lines on the picture. I took some more and as you will see there were some amazing rays showing up. I looked with the naked eye and there was a white glistening cloud passing over the house. The camera was recording pictures of an intense part of the electromagnetic storm that was passing overhead.
The storm moved over the house from the East to the West. I continuously took pictures with my iPhone and occasionally used my Canon D5mkIV. The patterns were changing and at times the scene over the house looked like rays being emitted from a heavenly body.
When I posted the pictures around midnight, I found the Socials were going mad. Many of my photographic friends were posting pictures of the Aurora and I was entering a massive chatroom as everyone exchanged their views on photographs that had been taken.
Reflections. I never thought that I would see the Northern Lights from my back garden and that it would be so spectacular. I was so pleased to have the chance to see it and photograph the light show. I never made it to the Bluebells fields the next day!
Technicalities. All iPhone pictures were taken on a tripod which gave lots of detail. Settings for the Canon were f/2.8, s15 secs and initially ISO1600. The light was so intense that I dropped the ISO to 400 on subsequent photographs. The colours from both cameras were different with the Canon picking up a richer red colour to the lights.
If you want to see my Northern lights from a plane, I have a link.
Woodland photography is one of my interests as there are several woods near to me that I love wandering around taking photographs with my camera. The skills that are involved with taking such pictures, I have learnt by trial and error. However, my technique is rather low key and much of what I do is point the camera and take pictures that look appealing. The opportunity to learn woodland photography skills arose after a chance meeting at the Photography Show with Miffyohara. Miffy is a classically trained photographer who has a great love of woodland photography. We talked about a photography walk and the place Miffy chose to start my woodland photography journey was Hagley Park next to the Clent Hills.
The park has 350 acres of Worcestershire countryside to explore with an abundance of woodland. When I arrived, I realised that a tripod was essential. Never go anywhere without your tripod. This was my first lesson of the day. Fortunately the light was good and the sun was breaking through the clouds. During our visit, the sun was diffused by cloud cover although occasionally there were long periods of sunshine. Therefore we waited for these patches of light to illuminate the woodland. Similar to wildlife photography, a calm, non-hurried approach is required. This is so difficult for me as I do tend to rush around. For the first 30 minutes, we observed and photographed one tree. We slowly walked around the tree, looking at how the sun fell on the branches and leaves. I learnt about “windows” created by tree branches that open your photographs in a similar way to framing. This aspect of woodland photography is appealing to me as I enjoy taking a picture within a picture. I found the opportunity to place people into the scene although I acknowledge this is not what woodland photography is about! The bluebells were in full bloom and offered splashes of blue throughout the day. Another learning point was the avoidance of man-made structures in the photograph and therefore paths which allow a leading line were not considered but I did occasionally break the rules. Therefore I used the branches and arrangement of the trees to lead the eye.
Hagley Park has a circular route that takes in several follies that were placed by previous owners to add a pleasing spectacle to the eye. The structures follow classical architectural designs as may be seen in my photographs. The current ideas of the park keepers are to reduce the prominence of these follies and allow the woodland views to take centre stage. The first folly we came across was Hagley castle which is designed to resemble a small ruined medieval castle. The castle is an imposing structure over this part of the park and whilst it was fenced off, it was still possible to view the architecture. Leaving the castle, the path dipped steeply down towards the stream that passed through the south of the park. On our way there were several interesting trees worthy of photographing. We climbed back up and then came upon Milton’s seat which gave beautiful views of Hagley Hall and the surrounding Worcestershire countryside. This was a place where one could linger and let time pass you by. The light was good and it was possible to view the hills in the distance.
Our next point of interest was the Palladian bridge which is very photogenic. You are spoilt with the different compositions that arise from the bridge and the surrounding woodland. The bridge is at the head of the lake and set in a valley of trees. There are reflections in the lake and the lay of the land offers both high and lower-level interpretations of the scene. I settled for an eye level view taking in the reflection and the setting of the bridge along the lake. Processing the picture in black and white provides balance and allows blending between the man-made structure and the woods. The bridge is at the start of three lakes which lead upwards to the classically styled Rotunda. On the way past the lakes, there is a memorial to the English poet William Shenstone in the form of an urn. Again I was drawn into photographing the urn and the Rotunda amidst the woodland trees. There were also other interesting trees to take in and photograph.
On returning to the café, we discussed our photographs and then discussed how to process the pictures. Whilst proficient at Lightroom, I do need to revisit Photoshop and use the layers function to bring out features in my photographs. Once again this is all part of the learning process.
Woodland photography is a genre to visit. I learnt how to look at woodland scenes, and carefully pick out areas of interest. The need to slow down and take in your surroundings allows you to seek out new photographic scenes that you would miss if you just walked through the park. By slowing down, you are also able to look at how the light falls on the woodland. Looking for windows and diagonals in the branches of the trees helps your woodland photography stand out. This walk was during the day and the woodland would naturally light up during the golden hours. I will look for future opportunities to pursue this genre of photography especially at the start and end of the day.
At the start, we talked to Alex one of the Park Rangers who gave us insight into the care of the park. Alex also agreed to be part of my 100 strangers project that is nearing completion. Here is a picture of Alex leaning against one of the Park Ranger trucks.
A final thank you to Miffyohara who was an excellent teacher and guided me through the skills required for woodland photography. In our discussions, subjects ranged from composition of woodland scene to a debate on giving titles to our pictures. The sharpening of my observational skills was one outcome of the day. The final word goes to Hagley Park which is a must visit location and will appeal to everyone not just photographers.
If you wish to see more of my previous woodland photography then I have added a link below. I will revisit Hay Wood with a different eye to my compositions.
Our family holidays took place at Lowfield House in Little Langdale, the Lake District. I will cover several days out in the area and the first subject of my writing are my photographs of Colwith Force on the river Brathay. The waterfall is hidden in the woods behind the road leading to Little Langdale. There had been a lot of rain the night before and therefore the water was rushing down the river. In the morning, the family took a walk on the road side of the river and then in the afternoon, I crossed the road bridge to follow the woodland path where there were several good viewing points. Safety was the main issue and whilst these pictures look spectacular, I made sure that I was on firm ground and not putting myself or my camera into a dangerous position. These pictures are a mixture of long exposure with and without filters.
Settings with camera body Canon 5D Mark IV Cover Picture – lens EF24-70mm f/2.8L, f/16, 2secs, ISO100 Picture 2 – lens EFLens EF 16-35mm, f/11, 20secs, ISO100 – Lees Little Stopper Picture 3 – lens EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM, f/11, 120secs, ISO100 – Lees Big Stopper
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Links to the complete series of my blogs around our visit to Little Langdale in the Lake District in August 2023.
There is no need to go to far away exotic places to enjoy your photography and I am always on the lookout for local places which lend themselves to a great picture. Arrow Valley Country Park is 20 minutes away by car and is situated close to Redditch town centre. In 1964, Redditch was designated a “new town” and has since kept the name. The town is often the butt of a Jasper Carrott joke about trying to escape the dreaded Redditch ring road. As it happens, you must leave the ring road to get to Arrow Valley Country Park.
I chose a winter’s afternoon to visit knowing from the Photographer’s Ephemeris that the sun lines up along the longest part of the lake at the end of January. When I arrived at the park, the sun was low, but an hour away from sunset so I started exploring around the lake. There is a concrete path that makes up a circular route around the lake. My first impressions were that this was detrimental to the natural layout, but I soon discovered paths leading into the adjacent woods. There was a lot more to this Country Park then I first thought.
The sun was getting lower and my main reason for coming was the sunset. There is a dip around the arrow point at the head of the park. The path comes close to the water’s edge and here you can feed the resident wildlife.
There were a few people gathered there so I had to make do with a point further up the path. This turned out to be a brilliant point of view, a place where the light took on a golden quality and lit up many of the trees and bushes. The heads of the rushes look like spotlights in the setting sun. For the main picture I used my wide angled lens on a tripod with a hard graduated LEE filter. This balanced the light perfectly as the sun touched the trees in the distance. I was not deliberately looking for the hyperfocal distance. However, my auto focus caught the edges of the framing trees and it tied in with the distance needed.
Enjoy the pictures of the park and the golden hour light.
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