Deep in the Hundred Acre Wood
Apr, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in the woods around my home (we call it 'bluebelle wood' due to the blue carpet in spring). I had to stray off the path to find the perfect setting! I'm 21 year old self taught photographer and particularly love using the beautiful English countryside around me to create my photographs.Time
This was taken late afternoon in the spring - my favourite time of day to shoot is around 3pm when the light is softer and more golden. It meant the light came through the trees and created some fantastic shadows and challenged me technically.Lighting
The lighting was really key for me in this shot and I spent a long time making sure that it was at the perfect level behind the teddy bear creating the golden outline. I was struggling with too much light from behind the shot as I was shooting into the sun - I therefore balanced the teddy near a tree in order to control the exposure. I couldn't use a tripod as I needed to get down low enough to capture the image without too much glare from behind.Equipment
This was taken on a Nikon D200 with an 18-200mm lens. No other equipment was involved.Inspiration
One of my favourite books as a child was Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne. When I went for a walk in the woods around home, it struck me that they really reminded me of the depiction of the Hundred Acre Wood. Particularly with the bluebelles in flower, I thought the lighting around 3pm would be fantastic for creating a childhood-inspired photograph! I'd been thinking about it for a while but needed to wait until the bluebelles were blooming and I took the opportunity as soon as it presented itself!Editing
I try very hard not to do any post-processing as I love natural, undistorted photographs that represent the landscape as the eye sees it. With this photograph, I did do a little touch up in Photoshop afterwards to the exposure and shadows in order to highlight the glow around the teddy bear but the processing was minimal.In my camera bag
The first thing that I pack in my bag is my Canon 1000D with my 18-55mm lens. It was my first camera and takes fantastic photos with little skill required. I love how robust it is and it's relatively light, easy to carry and certainly easy to use. The second is my Nikon D200 with my 18-200mm lense. This is my favourite camera as it allows me freer rein over the settings and has a much higher quality than my smaller Canon. It has the slight disadvantage of being quite heavy but I don't mind the weight - wouldn't be without it! Also have my tripod with me - an absolute essential!Feedback
The most important thing for me is to look around your local and immediate surroundings. I've lived in this area for my whole life and taken many walks through the wood but it was only when the lighting was at a particular point that I realised how great it would look in a photograph. I originally took it without the teddy bear but the teddy adds a story to the photograph rather than just being another landscape or nature shot. Telling a story is exactly what photography is about for me so this picture encapsulates my aim. Above all, I had to have patience and find the perfect placing and timing for lighting. With such massive memory cards these days, I would also suggest taking lots and lots of photographs experimenting with different settings and angles - a combination that you think probably won't work may make the perfect picture!
