This trip to Sherwood Forest in early October was another opportunity to get my eye accustomed to the woodlands and forests in time for the anticipated autumn colours. In recent previous posts, I wrote about the need to practice woodland photography, which applies not only to autumn but also to the rest of the year, as each season presents subtle but different challenges.
I hesitate to offer ‘tips’ for photography in this blog, as it has never been a ‘how to’ project and mainly I have been learning myself as I go along. However, if pushed, I would offer two bits of advice that I have found useful over the years and apply at any time of the year.
The first is to handhold the camera. I found that freeing myself from a tripod provided a leap forward in terms of creativity in a woodland environment. Second, take lots of images, don’t hold back. The complexity of woodlands means there is no perfect picture, just lots of potential, if it can be found.
For example, on this visit to Sherwood I took about 200 images, including some duplicates of the same scene. Often the adjustments are very slight like a change in point of view to close a distracting ‘light hole’ in the canopy or between the trees. In this respect, it is easier to respond to these changes when handholding the camera rather than continually trying to reset a tripod.
One of challenges of taking lots of images though, is the extended editing process! Whittling down a selection does take time, often making it hard to see the wood for the trees - pun intended!
These are some of the scenes that I selected from this visit to Sherwood. As expected, there was still a lot of green in the forest but pockets of colour which I tried to take advantage of:
