Bluebell season is fading away but there’s no doubt this time of year, bluebells are a photographers delight. Although many are reluctant to bother due to concerns over bluebell overload, cliched shots and following the herd. I always start the bluebell season thinking that I won’t bother, that unless I think I’m going to get that awesome sunrising golden sun rays spraying the ground through the trees then it won’t be worth it, and forgetting that I’ve never got that sort of shot anyway. Well I won’t get those sun rays while asleep in bed! This year I did a quick evening trip locally to a wood I know has some good bluebells. It was an overcast evening and quite uninspiring and flat weather-wise. I also could not find any compositions that were to my liking. However, following the advice I’ve heard so many times yet ignored, I wandered around just taking a look and chatting through some ideas with my wife. I’ll probably mention this a few times in my blog posts so apologies in advance, but my wife appears to have a natural eye for compositions, something I wish I had. From the shots I got, I came home with one or two keepers and the shot I published I thought had a good leading line / foreground interest of the fallen tree branch with good colours with the bluebells and grass further back in the scene. It was a rewarding trip out despite the low expectations.
Another trip to a more well trodden local location took place two weeks later. I hadn’t thought of bluebells particularly for this trip and the season felt long gone, one or two weeks behind when everyone was saying that bluebells we’re at their peak. However, the sun was out this particular late afternoon and compositions were everywhere and I had a fun time just exploring and shooting. I got a good close up bluebells shot from distance using the 24-200mm lens which I had decided was the only lens I would take on this day. I also jogged into another part of the wood as we headed back to the car, to find some sunlight illuminating part of the bluebells. It wasn’t spectacular, but it was inspirational enough for me to take some shots. After reviewing my edited shots, I felt one of these scenes had a Monet vibe to it. I’ve self-indulged myself by posting this scene on IG under the title “Mo’ Monet, No Problems”. Well it amused me anyway!
I left this location having enjoyed a long walk with my wife and having fun taking shots. What more could I ask? It’s hit home to me, and it’s not the first time, that assumptions we make about a location and whether or not there will be scenes worth shooting are pretty much a waste of time. Just go, take your camera, keep an open mind, and more often than not, you’ll get something.