OUREXPERT:JamesAbbott OURREADER:StephenBorman
HOLME
WOODS
WOODLANDPHOTOGRAPHYMAYBEONEOFTHEMOSTDIFFICULT
SUB-GENRESOFLANDSCAPEPHOTOGRAPHY,BUTIT CANALSOBEONE
OFTHEMOSTREWARDING.WETOOKWOODL ANDNEWBIESTEPHEN
BORMANTOONEOFTHEUK’SLARGESTSILVERBIRCHFORESTSTOTRY
HISHANDATA NUMBEROFCREATIVEWOODLANDTECHNIQUESThe (^) Photo Workshop
S
IT TING AT NEARLY three-metres
below sea level, Holme Fen in
Cambridgeshire is one of the
lowest lying land points in Great
Britain. It has become a home to
a wide variety of wildlife and a stunning
silver birch woodland after it was
drained in the middle of the 19th
Century. It’s a unique place and one that
can keep photographers busy for hours
whether shooting woodland, macro,
wildlife or even portraits using the
woods as a backdrop.
Cambridgeshire is, however, one of
the most difficult counties in the UK for
landscape photography. The Fens are,
of course, a unique and interesting
feature of the East Anglian landscape,
but the sheer flatness of the area and
abundance of arable farmland can make
it a tough place to shoot. But despite
these obvious challenges, like
anywhere, if you look hard enough
you’ll find perfect locations for certain
types of landscapes.
Woodlands are one of the most
difficult sub-genres of landscape
photography because woods are often
visually busy and chaotic places. Finding
a sense of order in the chaos has become
something of a cliché statement among
woodland photographers, but it’s also
one that rings true and perfectly
describes the biggest challenge of
woodland photography.
It’s this, and the fact that woodland
images don’t always possess the wow
factor you might get in the mountains
during an amazing sunrise, that makes
woodland photography less appealing
to many photographers, but this subtlety
shouldn’t be mistaken for banality. With
the right weather conditions and light,
woodland has the potential to produce
one of a kind images that only you
possess. And in an image-heavy world
where photographers are increasingly
visiting the same locations and take
almost the exact same shots, a little
originality is never a bad thing.
Our reader Stephen Borman is a keen
amateur photographer covering a range
of subjects ranging from landscape to
portraits to cars and more. With a solid
grounding in landscape photography,
we wanted to take Stephen completely
out of his comfort zone to experiment
with a style of photography and
techniques he’d never tried before. And
with the weather looking promising for
the morning, we had every hope that we
may just be lucky and see a little mist to
add atmosphere. Wishful thinking, of
course, but it never hurts to hope.
James is a professional landscape
and portrait photographer based
in Cambridge. With a love of
travel and the outdoors, he
frequently visits locations around the UK
to expand his portfolio and create tutorials
covering a range of techniques for
beginners and advanced photographers.
James’s kit: Sony A7R III, Sony FE 16-35mm
f/2.8 GM, Sony FE 70-200mm f/4 G, NiSi
Filters system, Vanguard Alta Pro 2 263CB
tripod and Mindshift Backlight 26 backpack.
Stephen is a power electronics
engineer in the automotive
industry. He’s been interested in
photography for over 30 years
since getting his first film SLR at the age of
eight and enjoys shooting a variety of
subjects ranging from aircraft to models
to landscapes and his two children.
http://www.aperture-exposed.co.uk
Stephen’s kit: Nikon D800, Sigma 24-70mm
f/2.8, Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8, Giottos Silk
Road tripod with a Koolehaoda ball head.