Can you see the light?

(To view larger images simply click on them).

Sitting here with cold feet tucked up underneath me for warmth it seems remarkable that only yesterday I was strolling around the gardens at Dunham Massey, enjoying feeling the warm Spring sunshine on my face.

I thought I should visit the recently opened Winter Garden as soon as possible, given that the Spring Equinox has been and gone. I wasn't sure what to expect beyond daffodils and hellebores and was really surprised and delighted to see so much more. Like a child in a sweet shop I really didn't know where to start and was in danger of just clicking away at everything. With so many beautiful flowers on display it can be surprisingly difficult to take a good picture. So I made myself slow down and first simply follow the wide paths that meandered through the swathes of daffodils and hellebores. A great shot always starts with the light. Evenly filtered daylight or backlighting works well for flowers and plants and I was on the hunt for both.

A clump of daffodils might look nice as you stand admiring it but can end up looking pretty uninspiring as a photograph. A vista showing flowers carpeting the ground as far as the eye can see makes a good shot, especially if you can focus on flowers in the foreground and gradually blur the background. I also hunted around for a few daffodils that were backlit, got down low and zoomed in on them to isolate them from the background.

Later I came across a variety of snowdrops that have very tall stems, a delight to photograph as I didn't end up with my usual muddy knees. I used the same technique of going in close to isolate a few perfect flowerheads. The sun was filtered through a light haze most of the time so the plants were nice and evenly lit.

The gardens have so much of interest in them at the moment and some things are not as obvious and showy as the daffodils, snowdrops and hellebores. Twigs in bud, twisted branches, curly catkins and dead seed heads can all make very creative and striking images if you apply the simple rules of looking for good light and zooming in close. I used a macro / close up lens and also selected the AV mode to set a low f value, which blurs the background, but you can achieve a similar effect with a compact camera by using the close up setting (usually a flower symbol) and zooming in close.

The light was great yesterday for photographing flowers in close up as it was very hazy rather than direct sunlight. It did make it a little more difficult to shoot nice vistas as the haze reduced the contrasts between light and dark in the background, a bit like mist would, making scenes look flat. Every now and again the haze would clear and the difference was remarkable, a flat, lifeless view suddenly leapt into 3D relief, colours became intense and more saturated.

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It really was a lovely day to be out in such beautiful surroundings, as evidenced by the number of people enjoying the gardens. I was again struck by the appeal of gardens to such a diverse group. Older couples strolled around and competed about who could identify the correct plant variety before the other, younger couples walked around hand in hand and mums pushed buggies and fed the ducks and geese with toddlers.

The ability to use the light to your advantage and to be able to see where it has created a subject or scene that will make a great photograph lies at the heart of all photography. Spend some time learning to see the light and you will see some great results.

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!

 

Shy snowdrops & elusive dog

Well, we still haven't had a snow event in Wincham but we had another powdering on Wednesday night and in case that was it for us this winter I decided to go in search of snowdrops in snow. Rode Hall near Congleton was resplendent with snowdrops and daffodils at this time last year and it's slightly higher than Wincham, so could have more of a snow event than here. And although we weren't exactly knee deep in snow drifts at Rode Hall, there was quite a lot of the white stuff, almost too much, as many of the snow drops were a) struggling to push their heads through the surface and b) foiled by their natural camouflage (i.e. white on white). These factors combined with the cold weather kept all but the most foolhardy visitors away - we were the first to leave our mark on the pristine white footpaths, a good hour after opening time. But it was far from being a wasted journey. It was magical to explore the gardens in such wintry conditions, snow creaking under foot (isn't that a great and unique sound?!) and I did come away with some lovely images. Little groups of snowdrops in sheltered nooks and crannies (I really must ask a gardener why crab and mussel shells were used as mulch around their base - other than offering some great contrasting colour), and early blossom flowers and daffodils wearing white bonnets of snow.

And I've enjoyed some wintry walks with Daisy. I've made it my mission this last week to try to get some shots which really show her character out on our walks - this is much harder than it sounds. She moves at the speed of light, has no particular destination in mind (in fact a previous dog trainer concluded "that dog lacks focus") and is either camera shy or is getting her own back on me for all the times I've tied her to a fence. The net result is a lot of shots of dog just going off camera (cursed shutter delay on compact cameras), blurred dog or dog's hind quarters. Never mind actually going for a well composed shot with background interest! I lined up one perfect shot of her looking back at me, standing on a narrow, snowy pathway lined with tall, golden grasses and low, raking sunlight and shadows, only to find a huge splodge of mud smeared across the lens from her last mad dash past me. Anyway, here's the best of the bunch but must try harder.

Oh - and the young swans were back, posing at the lake-side whilst keeping a wary eye on Daisy - very wise.

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!