The Unconventional Bluebell Photo
Every May is the same. You open Instagram, and there are carpets of bluebells covering the floor of ancient woodlands in soft morning or evening light.
The photos are truly lovely, and part of me wants to plan to go out and attempt to find similar places and try to get my own photos that are similar to all the ones I see. However for one reason or another I have not perused these. The only bluebell photos I have got, are ones in scenes that I’ve stumbled across by chance. And because of this, they are not necessarily taken at the best time of day in the best light.
Skomer Island
This year, I had a few opportunities to take photos of bluebells. The first opportunity would be in mid-May when I had planned a trip to Skomer Island to take photos of Puffins. I was not going to get too excited about this for a number of reasons. The first reason is that the bluebells seemed to arrive ‘early’ this year in my part of England, so I was wondering if my timing would be off. Secondly, I had the same trip planned for the same time last year, however due to poor weather conditions the ferry was cancelled on the morning of the trip. And then even if I did not encounter issues with my first two potential situations, I would always be visiting in the afternoon in May when the sun will be high and not perfect for lovely soft bluebell photos.
As it turned out, my ferry was running, it was a sunny day and the bluebells were out. Ultimately I was there to take photos of puffins, but if I could get a nice photo of bluebells then that would be a bonus. This is what I managed.
Driving through Sussex
On my way to a workshop, I was driving through Sussex on an A road, and all of a sudden I saw a load of bluebells in a woodland. The bad news was that there are not always convenient places to park on these sort of roads, but I found somewhere within a few minutes and pulled over. The good news was that I was on my way to a photography workshop so I had my camera gear with me. The light was awful, and I could only stop in one place tentatively so I had to do what I could. This is what I got.
A Nasty Footpath
I was on my way back from a walk with the dog. I usually take a little camera with me on these walks, and on this day I had my Fujifilm X100VI with me. The final part of the walk is travelling over a railway footbridge and then walking down a narrow footpath between a residential area and a the perimeter of a school. It is the only way to get across the railway line to the local Common, and it is not the prettiest of places. However, on this day, there was a few bluebells dotted around, and they were being caught by a bit of light from the setting sun. So I stopped with the dog and once again, I did what I could. It is an unconventional bluebell photo, but I am fond of it.
Conclusion
The bluebells only bless us with their presence for a short period of time, and these are the situations that presented themselves for me this year. Some years, I do not get any opportunities so to have three that presented themselves to me was excellent. Apart from Skomer, where I knew they would be a possibility, I was fortunate to have a camera on me. This is why I think that if you’re going out, take a camera, even just a small one, even if you do not use it. You never know what opportunities might come your way.
