A Country Walk

You may remember that I gave a talk to my U3A Natural History group on a local beauty spot called Sharpenhoe Clappers. On Thursday the group arranged to take a walk round the hill. We were very lucky as the forecast was for rain, but the sun shone for us. 

Here is the group setting out across the meadows.

The beech wood is just over the brow of the hill.

The meadow is full of wild flowers, bees, butterflies and grasshoppers. 

Wild carrot

Hare bells

A Chalkhill Blue butterfly

We walk through the wood and out onto the edge of the ridge. I love the views from here.

The path along the edge is single file, but there are still things to spot.

Wild Basil

Stemless Thistle (ouch)

and

a nameless pink vetch.

Thanks to Victoria who is brilliant at identifying wild flowers.

The weather stayed fine and the sky was as beautiful as the landscape. I haven't walked up here for ages, it is only a few minutes from home and a brilliant spot for blowing away the cobwebs and restoring the spirits.

OCA Photography 2: Landscape - Assignment 3: Ten photographs with a common theme

Tracks and Pathways

For this Assignment students have to choose their own linking theme. As I finished the previous assignment I was pretty certain what mine would be. For most people in urban Britain the countryside is accessed through the network of public pathways that cause so much controversy between rambles and landowners. Although I did not want to enter this debate I did want to record the way we use the countryside and leave our mark in the form of tracks and pathways. I was also researching which photographer to study for my critical review and was drawn to Fay Godwin. More about her later. She photographed the British countryside in black and white and recorded human interaction and influence on the landscape in everyway. So, influenced by her work, and wanting a different challenge I decided to make this project in black and white. I had photographs taken over several months as some were contenders for the 1 Acre assignment. In making my selection the graphic quality of the composition was a strong influence. Overall I was pleased with the selection, and it is always interesting how my tutor seemed favour some of the shots I liked the least. This was the first assignment I shot in RAW format. I worked on most of the images in Photoshop Elements cropping, adjusting levels and using dodge and burn. Here are the photographs, all linked to my flickr postings.

The Hay Meadow

The Curved Path

Over the Hill

Footprints in the Snow

Fence and Path

Puddled Path

The Lone Walker

The Undulating Field

OCA Photography 2: Landscape Assignment 2 - One Acre

It was easy for me to choose the location of my one acre for this assignment. Sharpenhoe Clappers is a ten minute drive away from Luton but a wonderful haven of peace and tranquility. The Clappers is a spur of land overlooking the fields of Bedfordshire and part of the Chiltern trail. It is owned by the National Trust and consists of meadow and a beech wood. My chosen area is mainly within the wooded area. Although a popular site with locals and hikers following the Chilterns it always seems peaceful. Surrounded on three sides by steep slopes it has a sense of isolation from it's surroundings, rising above everyday life. On still days voices and traffic noises carry from the village at the foot of the hill giving a further sensation of detatchment. It was this atmosphere I wanted to convey in my photographs. I have uploaded them in three groups as I find it easier to manage that way.

One Acre - Sharpenhoe Clappers (Set one)

1. The first picture is taken from the footpath leading to the wooded 'nose' of the spur of land. I wanted to show the flora along the path and the view across the fields immediately giving the viewer a sense of elevation.

2. Here I scrambled up the bank to look down on the path as it skirted the trees. This gave me a diagonal composition. This picture has a rather yellowy warm cast. Since my tutor's feedback on this project I have been shooting in RAW, which would have enabled me to deal with the tone more easily. It is good to look back and see how you could now make an improved shot.

3. Here the beech trees are silhouetted against the fields. I was pleased with the feeling of enclosure, of being in the woods looking down on the rest of the world. Once again RAW would have given me more control over the exposure.

4. This is one of my favourite views. Before harvest and the wheat fields are golden. It was late afternoon and there is an un-natural pink cast in the sky - next time!

5. I wanted to avoid a conventional sunset, although they are spectacular from the top, it does entail walking back to the carpark through a wooded path in the dark. So here half way back to the carpark I caught the low sun between the trees. As the slope falls away the sun catches the tops of the trees further down the slope before it rises up again on the Chiltern ridge.

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The rest of the assignment is over the previous two blogs

OCA Photography 2: Landscape Assignment 2 - One Acre

One Acre - Sharpenhoe Clappers (Set 2)

With this group of pictures, the aim was to depict different aspects of the interior of the chosen acre.

1. This path is bordered by a high hedge and one emerges from the shady path into the open sunshine. I took several shots and waited some time for the right cloud formation. This one wasn't quite centred on the gap, but it was very windy and the clouds were moving and changing shape fast.
2. In contrast this broad path is alongside a line of old beech trees, the high canopy at the edge of the trees let in the sun.
3. Here there are much younger beech trees growing close which give a gloomy feel to the centre.
4. The Clappers was left to the National Trust by a family in remembrance of brothers lost in the first world war. This rather bleak obelisk commemorates the gift.

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OCA Photography 2: Landscape Assignment 3 - One Acre (Set 3)

1 Acre - Sharpenhoe Clappers - the last three

These last three pictures were chosen for detail. When walking on the Clappers I like to observe what is about in the hedgerows. Pictured are

1. The seedheads of a wild clematis, Travellers Joy, also known as Old Man's Beard


2. A Comma butterfly


3. The woodland floor

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This final picture typifies the floor at the centre of the wood, littered with beechmasts, twigs and leaves and small chalky stones. The pigeon feather was a gift for the composition. Looking back over The Art of Photography projects made me realize how I had taken on board considerations such as the placements of points of interest in a composition when framing a shot like this.