Shooting woodland… thoughts after several attempts.
Woodland photography is a genre where success has always alluded me. I have really struggled to shoot anything decent. However, having now given plenty of time to it I am beginning to ‘see’ and understand what to do. It’s exciting!
First of all, Gary Gough, in one of his videos (thanks Gary) said that if your woodland photography isn’t any good it may not be you, it may be the woodland. I’m currently producing a vlog about that very subject. I have been looking in the wrong place! I wouldn’t just go and stand in a field and expect a great photograph; so it is with woodland. I have now located a couple of fantastic areas of woodland and I’m sure there are plenty more to explore and discover.
Also, as always, it’s about the conditions and time of year. Autumn, so far, has been very rewarding. It has been interesting this year watching the different species of trees lose their leaves in September whereas others are still stubbornly holding onto theirs. It looks as if it is a species thing, beech and silver birch seeming to give them up quickest, followed by sweet chestnut. However, I have driven past some oaks that have far more autumn colours than others. It must be a little bit dependant on location. Two things seem to affect this, temperature and hours of daylight and probably the way they are facing as well. It’s been really interesting watching different locations change.
The under canopy is also really important. I have been revisiting a couple of compositions as part of something I have called ‘Woodland Wednesday’. The idea being that I visit two locations bi-weekly and watch as the colours change, so far nothing much of note but it will be an interesting project I think. The vlogs are very short and should just be a snapshot. In one of the compositions the under canopy is covered in brambles. This makes for precarious shooting conditions but also they seem to be thriving in this relatively warm October we are having. I’m hoping for a dip in temperature soon to see if this change the colour of them, they are a vibrant green at the moment. The other composition is relatively bare but in the mid ground there is bracken. This has been fantastic in the other woodlands I have photographed in lately as it has changed colour quickly with some lovely yellows, browns and oranges interspersed with the greens. Bracken is certainly my favourite type of under canopy.
The other element that I have really appreciated is rain. Rain makes everything saturated and lovely. A polariser is essential to have to reduce the glare from sparkling leaves and adding this in to the equation makes everything even richer.
I’ve also learned a little trick that I’m sure everyone else already knows. Using your camera a lot means that you first of all get to know it well and builds up some muscle memory. I’ve recently bought a medium format camera in the shape of the Fuji GFX50R. I am thoroughly enjoying using this and I’m looking towards adding the new 20-35mm lens before a trip to Scotland next month. A by-product of constant use is feeling how it is going to look in LR and how it will process. This allow me to work the exposure and look I have visualised in the camera. I’m especially enjoying two factors. One, using the ‘expose to the right’ technique allows me to enhance that misty feel when rain is present and I’ve captured one of my favourite images of the year so far using the histogram to really push those highlights. An example of this can be seen in my gallery with the image ‘The Sapling’. And two, playing with the image format. I’ve discovered the 65x24 format, which prints out beautifully onto Fotospeed panoramic paper. I’ve always been a fan of the panoramic format and it really has helped me see. I touch on this in this video on YouTube https://youtu.be/gkqDVxdxqfs Squares are also something I’m in to and being able to switch the image format in camera has been amazingly useful at cutting out extraneous details such as blank skies and other trees that would otherwise spoil the composition.
To sum up then, all of the above elements are helping in my quest for successful woodland photography. I have just printed my very first woodland print so I must be making progress. I have put out a few videos on the subject over on YouTube which you may be interested in watching, with plenty more to come in the future. It is fast becoming my very favourite genre and I am looking forward to becoming even more accomplished. I hope we get a few nights frost to really see the colours change and even more success!
