BLUEBELLS (AGAIN) AND MORE!

After not being entirely happy with the  images taken on my previous visit to the bluebell woods I went back for another go. The only mistake I made this time was to go on a Sunday, even at 8am. the place was rammed full of people!

But first a bit of a rant!...Bear in mind that these people have made the effort to get up early on a Sunday morning to go and see the stunning beauty of a woodland  floor covered in a carpet of bluebells...so why, despite the signs asking them nicely not to, do they leave the paths and trample all over the flowers?  And then to get that perfect photo (with their iphones and their ipads) they insist on plonking their babies.. their kids..their girl/boyfriends..their parents/grandparents..their dogs (as well as letting them tear around unchecked)..push their pushchairs/wheelchairs(yes!)..ride their mountain bikes onto any pristine patch of bluebells that they can find!!

 I guess all they're concerned with is their own enjoyment and they're just too ignorant to think of other people?...nature's beauty is just wasted on these morons!!...phew!..rant over.

I managed to get a few photographs but after a short while I got p****d off with dodging all the people and walked to another, less populated!, part of the woods where I could work in peace.

After a while I noticed that there were quite a few other wild flowers out in bloom and waiting to have their photos taken!

Common Dandelion (taraxallum officinale)

Greater Stitchwort (stellaria holostia)

Ribwort Plantain (plantago lanceolata)

Wood Sorrel (oxalis acetosella)

Common Daisy (bellis perennis)

Red Campion (siline dioica)

Cypress Spurge (euphorbia cyparissias)

Despite the morons..er..people I had an enjoyable few hours getting down and dirty with some beautiful flowers!

BLUEBELLS

I went out yesterday to photograph the Bluebells in the local woods. Unfortunately the light wasn't perfect, it was rather overcast and dull... and almost dark under the tree canopy, just to add to the fun it was also cold and muddy!

It's quite a large wood and there were lots of people milling about looking at the Bluebells so a lot of time was spent waiting for a clear shot.

I also got a few funny looks as I was crawling about in the mud and the leaf litter to get the low down shots!

I'm not too pleased with the focusing and the depth of field in these close up shots...I'll go back after the weekend and have another roll around in the mud...er..go!


I also encountered a problem during the processing of these images. When I imported the CR2 images into the Adobe Raw Converter the blue was extremely over saturated and I had a struggle to adjust them back to anything close to the correct colour!...any ideas? 

Bluebell Time

Yesterday afternoon (in bright sunshine and 21*C.) I went to the Ashridge Estate in Hertfordshire to see the Bluebells (hyacinthoides non-scripta) which are at their best about now. As soon as I opened the car door I was hit by the heady scent that seemed to fill the whole area and the sight of a vast carpet of blue covering the woodland floor was just amazing. With hindsight perhaps I should have visited earlier in the day because it was crowded, and getting a photograph without lots of people in was rather difficult but with a little perseverance I did manage to get a few shots worth keeping!