June on the Southwell Trail - Part 2

In addition to yesterday’s post featuring monochrome images from the Southwell Trail, is a further selection of photographs taken during the month of June. The first set features the colour versions of the local barley crop. I particularly liked the swaying textures of the barley in the fields and I tried to capture a sense of this in a number of the shots below:

The very warm and sunny weather at the end of May was replaced by more rainy days during June. I recorded some of this weather from the trail and focused on some close up work including the wildflowers (dog rose and bramble) and greenery both in the undergrowth and from the trees:

June on the Southwell Trail (June 2020)

When the virus lockdown was relaxed I used black and white (or monochrome) photography as one way of kick starting my creativity. This approach worked well with a series of images taken along the River Trent at Fiskerton. I then carried this forward to the Southwell Trail during June, capturing the natural light and shade of the summer foliage. These were some of the results:

I also applied a more ‘punchy’ conversion to images of the local barley crop. Again, I think monochrome works well with this subject and I pleased with the outcomes as I try to reinstate my daily habit of taking photographs after the enforced virus break:

Summer Greens (June 2020)

Forest photography in the summer months is all about ‘green’. At times the colour can be overwhelming making composition more difficult. In these circumstances it is far too easy to make quick judgements and reject many shots before clicking the shutter.

To avoid this, and to keep the photography experience positive, I have learned to record every shot that I line up and defer all judgements to the process stage.

Of course, this doesn’t guarantee good results but it does mean that there is some material to work with - even if that is pressing the delete button!

More often than not though, I do find images that I like, as I did with this selection from Clipstone and Sherwood Forests towards the end of June...starting with a set of backlit oak and beech leaves:

And, these were some of the forest scenes picking out the colour in the canopy, the branching patterns of the trees and views along the forest paths: