Bluebells

I missed the bluebells again! The truth is that although I love seeing them in our local woods, I have never really been out with the specific aim of taking photographs. Then, I decided that this year was going to be different and so I began looking for suitable locations. The problem was that most of the suggestions online were for properties with sky high entrance fees and anyway… I didn’t want to admire them as part of a crowd. If I had found the right place, I was willing to be there well before sunrise, but it never happened.

Dene park was my first option, being close to home and in fact, there had been a recommendation only days earlier to go and visit. There was certainly a wonderful display, but only in a very small area close to the car park. There was nothing of a composition there though and so I wandered round the entire woods over the next couple of hours to find… no more bluebells. Before leaving, I tried the entrance path one more time and I did spot a few flowers up on a steep bank. It was a struggle getting myself and my gear in the right position, but I made it eventually. The image I took is featured above and was all I got this year.

I had encountered a stunning display a couple of years ago, when I had gone to Denge woods for the Duke of Burgundy butterflies. It’s a three-hour round trip and on that particular visit, I had found no butterflies. Stopping to chat to a local lady on my way back to my car, she saw my camera and assumed I was there for the bluebells. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I was using a macro lens, but as we went our separate ways, I thought that I should at least try some photographs anyway. It was a bit of a challenge with a prime lens of 105mm, but I did get a few worthwhile images.

This year, I made the long drive back to Denge, parked up and got out of my car to find no bluebells at all. Local people were there and were commenting on the lack of flowers. I had thought about trying again a week or so later, but one of our cats became seriously ill and his recovery took top priority. Bubu is now back to normal and my thoughts are turning to bugs instead.

Maybe next year…