SIDEBAR

Trying something different…

20 comments
May 09 2016

I have seen a lot of bluebell shots over the last week or so and, to be fair, they have mostly been very good indeed 🙂
You have probably seen them too? Lovely beech woods, covering a carpet of bluebells – Spring is here and look!! It’s beautiful. But the shots are always, understandably, from INSIDE the wood.
So, the other day I decided to just try something a bit different. A shot from OUTSIDE the wood, looking in. This was new to me so I needed to chose my viewing point carefully!
Here is the result – shot on a Nikon DSLR camera and on a tripod.
Sometimes we can get better results by trying something different, rather than copying what other folk do.

Bluebell Woods in the Lake District, May 2016

Bluebell Woods in the Lake District, May 2016

Does it work for you?
Shot on my Nikon D800 and Nikon 24-70mm lens at f14 and 1/25th second at 100 ISO, using a Benro Mach 3 tripod.
nj

  2. Alan Santillo 

    I have to say that this image really does work. I have taken images of bluebells from outside woods, but all have been composed to shoot the bluebells inside the woods, I hadn’t even considered including the hedges and fences surrounding the wooded areas. This something I will most certainly explore when taking images of not only bluebells, but of other subject matter … think I might have been missing a trick here, so thanks Nick.

  3. Ginny 

    I like that very much, Nick. It puts the bluebells in context, and the soft green & blue colours show up beautifully with the grey of the wood and walls
    Nice!

  4. JUDITH LION 

    Yes it works for me – that first glimpse of deep blue through the young beech leaves makes one want to go and explore further. I’ve been taking some of bluebells just lining a track through the woods, sort of same idea 🙂

  7. Astrid McGechan 

    It’s different, and I can understand where you are coming from. But I am not sure it quite works for me. I don’t particularly like the grass in the foreground, and the wall kind of cuts up the picture. The “looking in” aspect is nice though!

    • Nick Jenkins 

      I think all I am really seeking to do here is to get folk to consider something other than the straight on bluebell and trees shots (that I do!). This was just an example of what CAN be done.

  8. Barbara Fleming 

    Lovely picture Nick, but I am inclined to agree with Astrid. I don’t mind the grass too much, leading into the picture, but I am a bit bothered by the stone wall, it is stopping me from getting into the wood and seeing the bluebells.Maybe I am having trouble thinking of climbing over the wall!!?
    I think the idea of looking into the wood is lovely, it reminds me of Ansel Adams who so enjoyed taking pictures looking into woodlands
    It is always great to think of a new idea for images, especially when you see so many similar pictures of bluebells.

    • Nick Jenkins 

      Hi Barbara!I think all I am really seeking to do here is to get folk to consider something other than the straight on bluebell and trees shots (that I do!). This was just an example of what CAN be done. By NO means am I holding this up as a good example, and as for the wall – it was, er, there 🙂

  9. Barbara Fleming. 

    Yes Nick, I am all for trying something new – we do get a bit stuck in our ways and I am probably one of the worst for taking the same ‘old’ boring photos. You do need courage to try new ideas and I will certainly go along with that. Thanks Nick for all your ‘posts’ I love reading them.

  10. Ralph Bennett 

    Not quite for me, too much field,detracting from the Bluebells. We nearly always are looking for a different approach.

  11. Jenny Brice 

    It is so easy to get into a rut and it is always good to try a different approach or view point. I do like this photo. It’s just my opinion, but to me it tells more of a story than a shot of just bluebells and trees (not that there is anything wrong with bluebells and trees!)

    • Nick Jenkins 

      Thanks Jenny – I agree it is more of a story and is one of a set of several shots I took that afternoon. I went in after and did just the bluebells too 🙂

  12. John Fry 

    I did not like this shot Nick. to me it’s a shot of the edge of a wood in spring that just happens to have a few bluebells in it. I agree with others who have said that the wall acts as a block and doesn’t encourage the viewer to look at the flowers inside the wood. When I’m walking towards a bluebell wood I like to see them inside but have never seen a view that tempts me to take a picture!

    • Nick Jenkins 

      Obviously I did like it, and probably in the context of a set I also shot from within the wood, the whole sequence telling a story. That you do not is a risk I am prepared to take in floating ideas to my friends and clients 🙂
      Thank you for your observations.

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