Once again I found myself waking at some insane hour and speeding off after my next quarry, today’s was West Woods on the outskirts of Marlborough, to see what’s what for sunrise. This morning’s in-car temperature reached 0°C, that’s technically freezing. In May!! Anyway, I arrived in good time and was stunned by what I saw. Bluebells. As far as the eye could see. It was brilliant! No sooner had I stepped from the car I once again found myself surrounded by a sea of blue and green, smothered by a blanket of the sweetest floral aroma as the soft early light of the rising sun steadily moved past the canopy, gradually intensifying as it went. The late bloom has meant more growth in the canopy overhead than last year, hence the light seems obscured a touch more than preferred. That said it really was yet another wonderful experience and quite a privilege to be surrounded by the sights, sounds and smells of a waking spring forest in full bloom. I didn’t really mind the pre-5am start after that. Ah, nature… great!

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Back on the nature photography trail again after the superb wedding last weekend. I got up at an insanely early time to leave London, primarily to make it to this location in time for sunrise but also ensuring I would avoid the Congestion Charge, a bonus! With the days getting longer as the summer takes hold that magical hour around sunrise gets much earlier. It could be argued though that this is a good thing almost always guaranteeing somewhere to yourself. Very few people are dedicated enough to rise for first light when it comes around 5am and any good photographer knows to be there before the sun rises to ensure the best composition for when that attractive warm glow appears. The summer can be a little punishing on the most ardent nature photographer but the rewards out-weigh the early rises.

This particular location was awash with bluebells, though this year they seem rather late and less bountiful than previous years but the aroma within the woods – even at that early hour – was incredible. I suspect the late bloom is due to the sudden drop in temperature (it was 2C according to the gauge in the car!) but no matter, I got to work and decided to try something different for a change rather than the ‘done before’ clichéd shots. This particular image was made around 15mins before the sun came up, with enough light to evenly illuminate the woodland for the colours to come through. The effect was made entirely in-camera and not with the use of any software.

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