Monday 25th April - Lewesdon Hill

Long-time readers of my blog (snicker) will have seen that I'm a big fan of Lewesdon Hill, an old iron age hill-fort in the heart of Dorset. On my last visit I had discovered that it was a well-known Bluebell location, and as it was the season I was keen to check it out. The weather forecast said MIST so I set my alarm for 4am, put on my best hiking suit and set out before work to see what I could capture.

Hey, guess what - the weather forecast was wrong! There was no mist to be seen anywhere, but it was still a lovely morning, so I set off anyway because, you know, Bluebells.

The clue is in the title with Lewesdon Hill, in that it's quite steep in places, but it does align with the morning light nicely on the main pathway up, and as I only had half an hour or so, this is where I concentrated my efforts.

Here's what I captured...

It's something I say a lot, but this scene really needs mist to work as that would soften the background out a bit, however I loved the light on the central tree so much that I took the shot anyway. It was really that red - lovely

I do like the effect of the first light on Beech trees, as evidenced in this photo. But, say after me...it needs mist to elevate this into a better photograph!

I spent a little too long trying to make this image work, and given I only had half an hour or so, probably wasn't the best use of my energy! Nethertheless, here it is, focus stacked and all. Do you think this needs mist to work? Well done, now you're getting it!

I'd seen this tree on a previous visit and it was looking particularly fine with bluebells in front and light behind. I don't yet have the photographic skills/vision to have done the scene justice (the bright bright sky was a real challenge) but I hope this photo at least hints at the amazing scene before me...

A little vignette from the scene above because I just loved the colour palette..

When I captured this shot I thought I was on to a real winner, but after looking at it properly I think I was being a bit optimistic, and it's not a strong composition. It's probably a bit messy in the bottom right corner of the frame too...

Huzzah! A shot I like! I wanted to capture the blue and orange within the scene, which I think I've done successfully. It might benefit from a re-edit as my photoshop skills improve, but finally I managed to capture a shot I could add to my portfolio, and this remains one of my personal favourite shots of the year...

Here's another scene that I liked that didn't work as well as the previous photo (and another image that would probably benefit from a re-edit)

I had to really go trekking to get a couple of these shots, and navigated a couple of savage slopes that sent me tumbling into a small stream on a couple of occasions, so I was feeling pretty knackered by the time I had to head to work. Still, with a possible portfolio image in the bag I was very happy, and was prepared to do it all again the next time mist was in the forecast...

Until then, goodbike!