Sherwood Forest (November 2020)

For this last post of 2020 - roll on 2021! - I return to Sherwood Forest on the turn of the season with meteorological winter due to start on 1st December 2020.

The day had started with a mist but when I arrived at Sherwood it had largely cleared leaving a few sunny spells. Nearly all trees were now leafless and prepared for the new season. The only autumnal colour remaining was the golden glow from the sunlit bracken:

                                            

                                   

                                                   

During the more cloudy periods I focused on some close up studies of the old oaks that are dotted around the forest. Many have lost their bark leaving and array of woody textures and colours. These were some of the results: 

In terms of posts, that is it 2020! All that remains for this year is a round up of December’s photography which I will start in January. Happy New Year!

Robin Hood Hill (November 2020)

Buoyed by the wonderful larch colours in Blidworth Woods (see my last post), I decided to cap a fine weather day with a walk up to Robin Hood Hill. 

Robin Hood Hill is a venue I tend to visit on a regular basis as it is one of the few local places where there is some height and a view. I was therefore surprised to find that I hadn’t been to Robin Hood Hill since early September, missing out the peak of the autumn season. 

As it turned out, the low warming sunlight at the end of the day aided the remaining colours on the oak trees and a distant wood/plantation on the Oxton Estate. 

I tried a number of different compositions to capture the wood including a panorama of five separate images stitched together in Lightroom. I don’t often do this but the scene seemed to lend itself to this format. These were some of the results:

Walking back to the car, I thought I had seen the last of the day’s sunshine but just before sunset there was one last fiery burst of light:

Larch Tree Colours (November 2020)

Most of the autumn colours had finished by the end of November and I was turning my attention to winter photography. 

A bright sunny day led me back to Blidworth Woods, a venue that I had used frequently during last couple of months as we tried to adhere to the ‘stay local’ Covid guidance. I had no particular subject in mind but was immediately drawn to the larch trees. 

Towering above most trees in the wood the larch were displaying mops of golden needles. Set against a clear blue sky there was a wonderful contrast in colour which rounded off the autumn season in an unexpected but delightful way: