As part of a long term project, I’m spending quite a lot of time in woodlands these days. In particular, Anya’s Wood near Hawnby.
Fosilised Fern?
Found in passing, this small area of woodland always seems to have something special to find inside. Not that it’s always easy to make an image there. Indeed, it’s darn right difficult at times but that’s why I like it so much as it makes me work the area hard. This, I find, helps me keep my eye in and look for things that I might ordinarily overlook. Of course Winter is the most challenging time of the year for woodland photography due to everything looking dead and forlorn but even then, there’s always something that inevitably crops up if you look hard enough. In this case an image of a decaying branch which, upon closer scrutiny, almost looks as if a fern has become fossilised into the bark emulating the accompanying fern alongside.
Setting up the Ebony under such circumstances is a feat in itself as it’s always very awkward to set up the tripod so that the bulky camera faces in the downward position without it toppling over. Taking what seemed to be an age I eventually worked out the correct angle I was looking for. However, it was getting dark by then resulting in a long exposure plus the need to allow an extra 0.7 stops of exposure compensation meant an exposure time of over 15 seconds, giving the image a rough, grainy type texture that gives a pleasing effect overall.
Therefore, my suggestion for anyone wishing to expand on their photographic knowledge is to set yourself a photographic learning project (as opposed to just a photo project) - one that will take you out of your comfort zone. To test and hone your photographic skills further than those you’ve already acquired. Doing this can only help you gain a more in-depth understanding of the subject and as such make an already enjoyable experience even more so.
Technical Data: 150mm, 15s@f22, Provia 100F.
As usual you can find this image and more in the ‘Recently Added’ section of the Gallery, Enjoy.