A couple of weeks ago the Jade Vine, at the Botanic Gardens, was in full flower and looking magnificent. It has been years since I had last seen it in flower. So, I spent quite some time photographing it from different angles and playing with the various backgrounds the hot house offered.
I visited Waresly Wood toward the end of the bluebell season. Rather than take straight images, I decided to try some in-camera multiple exposures. Each image consists of 8 shots, moving very slightly between captures.
Wistman's Wood is one of three high-altitude oak woods on Dartmoor. The dwarf oaks are twisted and contorted, their branches covered with epiphytic mosses and lichens. The trees grow amongst granite boulders, that are covered in more moss. It is the kind of place you would seek out a small green Muppet to teach you the ways of the force.
The wood is a popular spot with photographers and I have wanted to shoot their for years. Many of the best photos I have seen are taken in mist, which softens the branching chaos and adds to the Dagobah-like feel. But that was not the conditions I had. The day was brightly overcast. I chose to shoot in infra-red, to covert all that green to black and white. But I struggled to bring narrative to the arboreal madness. There was just too much going on. There is clearly a reason why the best images come from local 'togs. It is one of those venues that require multiple trips to tease out its charms.
The Isabella Plantation is an area of Richmond Park that is enclosed with a fence to keep out the deer and filled with rhododendrons, azaleas and magnolias. In spring, there are few prettier places in London.
On Good Friday, I visited Winkworth Aboretum, in Surrey. I have previously been there in Autumn in the pouring rain and in February with snow on the ground. So, it was a treat to see it on a glorious sunny spring day.
The recent cold snap seems to have finished off the magnolia flowers. But, for a brief time before that, they were looking beautiful.
At the start of the month I had a week in the Lake District, staying just outside the park on the western side. It was mainly a walking trip rather than a photography trip. I managed to cross another 12 Wainwrights off my list (174 done and 40 to go, since you ask). The weather was far better than we had any right to expect of the west coast in early March. Hardly any rain, but plenty of wind. The first two and half days were nothing but blue skies. After that it was nothing but grey skies. The transition happened in about 20 minutes while we were having lunch.
I did manage a few photos over the week. This barn owl was quartering the field next to our cottage on the first two nights. Sadly after that we didn't see it again. Maybe it was too windy to hunt.
This little tower could also been seen from the cottage and looked lovely in evening light.
Whereas, Loweswater was looking great in the morning at the start of a walk.
On a windy, but overly grey day, we visited Devoke Water, to try some 10-stop photography of an old boat house.
I left my camera behind for one walk, because the forecast was nothing but grey. So when a break of light did come, I had to resort to the iPhone.
The Scafell range from the top of Hard Knott.
The final walk of the week was fairly short and we had some time to kill before the pub opened. Luckily, in the Lakes, you are never very far from a waterfall.
