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Writer's pictureDave Shaw

Sunday 27th February - Wareham Forest

Over a month had passed since my last photography outing; winter photography doesn't really inspire me that much, and the weather had been pretty bland - wet, windy and mild. At the same time I'd been going through a pretty tough period at work and my planned house move was dragging on and on.


Towards the end of February the promise of mist was enough to tempt me to set an early alarm, and I thought I'd head out to a place I've always enjoyed - Wareham Forest in Dorset.

It was clear in Wincanton when my alarm went off, but I persevered anyway as Wareham can be a good bet for mist when it's scarce elsewhere. But, as this was 2022 even Wareham Forest couldn't deliver on the atmosphere front. It was cold though, and for the first time in ages there was no wind, so I was optimistic I would find something to photograph. The first image (above) was taken in the car park - if I was Thomas Heaton I'd be pleased with the simplicity of the scene and the subtlety of the colour palette. Non-photographers would probably look confused and suggest I was talking s*@t...

Since I've got into photography I've developed a love for the colour pink (don't tell the lads) and the sky was looking fantastic against the yellow grass. I can only work with what's in front of me, and what was in front of me was these Eucalyptus trees (above). I quite like this one and may try and print it one day - if you ever visit my downstairs toilet you can judge whether it's any good or not.


Cut-Paste the comments above to the image below..

One of the things I enjoy about woodland scenes is trying to find some order amongst the chaos. The colours in this section of the woods (below) were amazing, and I loved how the early sun caught the fire black trunks of the fir trees, however, try as I might I couldn't get an arrangement that worked. This was the closest I came, but the scene's too busy and lacks any compositional interest. Onwards to the next stop...

The tree with a kink in it looked great to my eyes, but it didn't really translate into a photo. I still tried though..(too much sky)

Although the light remained great I struggled to capture anything of value. The image below would have looked great if one of the trunks had something different about it to add some interest, but alas!

I managed to break up the uniformity a bit in the image below with the assistance of the light, which helpfully illuminated the skinny green tree in the background. But the scene still lacks something (suggestions please) and so I moved on fairly quickly.

I love the grass at Wareham Forest, but it is difficult to edit - it's very easy to overcook the yellow and blow out the highlights. I think the image below was worth the effot in post-production, but you can tell me your own thoughts in the comments if you like? (in 8 posts I have one comment, so the chances are you won't!)

Mental note - I must revisit the scene below when it's misty.....(if you follow my Instagram feed 'spoiler alert'!)

This tree would look great with a bit of misty separation too (below)...

As the light faded I tried to get a bit more creative with some minimalist shots..


The image below turned out to be my favourite shot of the day - I think it's the first time I've managed to get across the amazing textures of the grass. This one might even make my portfolio...

Although the conditions weren't as expected I'd quite enjoyed my jaunt to Wareham Forest, and I managed to capture one or two photos of merit.


After my little break in February, my photography trips get a bit more frequent as the scouting for Bluebell season gets closer..


See ya!

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