Tuesday 17th May - Vallis Vale, Frome

I'm not necessarily the biggest fan of social media in general, but one of the positives can be connecting with like-minded people, which I seem to have done through Instagram over the last couple of years. It was a tip-off from one of these connections that took me to Vallis Vale early on Tuesday morning in search of Wild Garlic (big thanks to Nathan Hollingsworth).

I left without any expectations - I didn't have a great deal of time, and it was quite late in the season, and although the weather was bright and clear, I didn't think that would matter too much due to the fact that Vallis Vale was in a bit of a valley, which might mean some nice reflected light.

Vallis Vale is a popular dog walking route as it flanks the River Mells, which is nice and shallow and usually full of Doggos. I recall walking my dog here years ago, but I'd not clocked it as a Garlic spot, and I have to say, although the best of the Garlic was on the turn, I shall definitely be looking to come back next year as it really was rather nice (with some mist of course!).

If found a few compositions just by following the main path next to the river;

A half hearted attempt at a wide angle shot, which I would have developed more if the conditions were better or if I had more time.

Because there was a quarry in the background of this scene which was getting the full morning sun it created a nice natural glow to the image that almost looks like mist.

I converted the same scene to black and white just for sh*ts and giggles. Meh

I have to admit I was having great fun exploring the various little side paths.

I even trekked up on of the steep ridges to see what was at the top - I would not recommend doing this as the answer was 'not a lot' and it was also very difficult to get down again...

I liked this scene so much that I revisited it again!

Just as it was time to go I came across this patch of woodland where someone had randomly planted a Rhododendron plant - very irresponsible given how rampant they can grown, but beautiful non-the-less. I'd already gone over my allotted time slot, so I had literally no time to develop a composition, so I took a couple of snaps and vowed to return another time to properly capture the scene.

That Rhodenendron was quite the find, but when I did return a few days later someone had dug it up, which was probably a good decision, but it ruined the photo opportunity! Vallis Vale will definitely be on my list of locations to visit in future springs, so watch this space!

I have one more of my daily blogs left before I move to a monthly format to try and speed through the rest of the year. Maybe that'll be enough to snag a couple of readers - we live in hope!

Arrivederci!