Framedlight

I was going to an exhibition in Suffolk so decided to combine it with a trip to Benacre beach. This is on a part of the coast that is being washed into the sea. There used to be some dead trees that stood on the shoreline and were a magnet for photographers and I wanted to see of they were still there after the ravages of this winter. To get to the beach you park in Covehythe outside the church which is attractive on its own. You then walk down the road, past the signs saying 'danger do not enter' and out on to the crumbling tarmac of the road that now drops off the end of the cliff. When you get as far down the road as you can you turn left on to the field past the signs telling you not to, and out to a footpath which roughly skirts the cliff. I say roughly as it is now missing in places and it is necessary to divert over the crop to avoid plunging over the edge. Passing a nature reserve which still had bluebells out when I was there at the beginning of May you descend down t...

I am behind in publishing blog posts so am a little out of time with the season. I have been to our local wood three times while the bluebells have been out this year and I have not seen them look so good before. A wet winter has agreed with them although the wood is still very scruffy after the storms. I promise you you will be sick of bluebells by the time I have finished, but here is the first set taken when they were just coming out.

If only, like the Frost poem, we could have some snow and a spell of cold weather rather than the dismal rain. I stopped by a local wood quite early this morning and managed to get some pictures before the drizzle started again. There were still raindrops clinging to the twigs from the overnight showers. I know pictures of disordered trees are quite popular at the moment and this wood is pretty chaotic as many of the trees are down following the January storms and it has not been tidied. I was surprised to see the tops of the bluebells already poking through the ground. I hope we do not get a late frost.

I took the dog and the camera for a walk in Wandlebury on the outskirts of Cambridge - a piece of natural woodland surrounding an 18th century house (now turned into residences). I am still experimenting with the 24mm tilt shift lens so the following are taken with that. The first was taken at f/3.5, the third at f/16 and the other two at f/8. It was fairly dark in the woods so I used a tripod.

Furneux Pelham is a small village in Hertfordshire, around 20 minutes drive away from my house. My daughter discovered a nice circular walk there which starts by the church and goes through some beech woodland. We went back to give the dog some exercise and for me to again bag a few trees, travelling light with the Nikon D800e, 24-70mm f/2.8 lens and a tripod. The first picture has been subjected to some alterations using Nik Color Efex Pro foliage and glamour glow filters

Still looking for that perfect autumn shot, Alan and I went to Ashridge Forest in Hertfordshire around 3 weeks ago. We made an early start for the 1 1/2 hour journey and the forest was quiet when we got there, surprising a number of deer on the access road. It was a very sunny day, too sunny really as the contrast was extreme in among the trees. There was also a bit of a breeze blowing, but we enjoyed the morning very much. This was our first visit and I am sure that we will be back. By the time we were leaving the place was heaving with people but we did have a large bowl of pumpkin soup in the visitor centre to fortify us for the return journey! White coral fungus

These were taken on the D800 using a tripod in the wood at Rickling at the end of October. The trees in the heart of the wood are reluctant to turn gold, even though there are a number of beeches. They are still green now (18th November).

I have been spending a little time in a small wood fairly close to the house. These pictures were taken in October before the leaves had really turned, on a dullish day which is easier for taking pictures through the trees. A couple were also taken using the pinhole lens after I had taken the same view with a 50mm lens - so compare and contrast! I quite like the smudgy vignetted effect of the pinhole.

I can never resist a good tree and here are three taken locally and in Hatfield Forest which has a number of really ancient trees. For good measure I am throwing in a gate and bramble picture. The Hatfield Forest picture was taken using my new lens - the 16-35mm f4G Nikon zoom. It has Nikon's second generation vibration reduction system and I managed to hand hold down to 1/20th second and maintain sharpness (not always, it depends on how patient and steady I am!) I think this will be really useful on the NikonD800. Ancient tree in Hatfield Forest