Concluding my trio of bluebell-related posts, I returned to the bluebell wood at dawn this morning just in time to see the early-morning sun breaking through the beech trees to illuminate the bluebells. Without the temptation of that lovely, golden light at dawn, my battle to get out of bed before sunrise would be a lost one. It's quite a struggle anyway. However, my bleary eyes opened up pretty quickly when I saw the bluebell wood this morning. With only a few pronking deer for company, it was a magical way to start the day.

I've put together small selection of HDR images in a slideshow and hope you'll enjoy them.

Tags: hampshire, bluebells, hdr, slideshows

My search for the definitive Bluebell Wood image continued this afternoon in the company of some of Winchester's finest photographic talent. It was a wonderful way to end an excellent day and the woods seemed to look even better than they did just 24 hours before.



We chatted as we wandered along the woodland path but once inside the wood we went our separate ways and an almost meditative calm descended (apart from the ever-present drone from cars on the nearby M3 motorway!).



This particular wood is relatively free of the debris of fallen branches that occasionally disrupts a composition and, as you can see, the bluebells stretch over a large enough area to enable a sweeping view of blue to be captured.



I still don't have a definitive bluebell wood image but if there was a definitive image of our outing this afternoon then I guess it would have to be this one.



If you're interested in a guided photo tour of the bluebell woods in the next few days then get in touch. I should have been moving house this week but the move is delayed so I'm kicking my heels and available for hire. My last-minute, half-day rates are very reasonable and as well as a beautiful walk you'll get photo tuition and I'll even include a flask of tea. Subscribers to my Newsletter get discounted rates.

Tags: wps, hampshire, bluebells

My search for the definitive bluebell wood image continues and scouting around Micheldever Woods this afternoon I came across a section of woodland that has escaped the recent Forestry Commission work.


(click for larger version)
The light was pretty harsh in the middle of the day but by using an ND graduated filter over the top section of the frame I managed to control the exposure enough to keep it all within what the digital sensor could record.

It's certainly not the definitive bluebell wood image yet but I'm half-way there, finding the right location is probably the hard part. I plan to return with some friends from WPS tomorrow evening when the light is more sympathetic and we'll see what we can turn up then.

In the mean time, I hope you might enjoy this HDR image taken on today's scouting trip.

Talking of bluebell woods, my mate Nic can knock up a decent photo of a bluebell wood. I haven't mentioned Nic's photo blog for a while but, as the name suggests, his London Daily Nature Photo blog is a daily source of inspiration, providing you have no objections to his occasional unapologetic inclusion of pornography.

Tags: hampshire, hdr, bluebells