Southwell Trail, Part 1 - Photography Week 25 (2016)

The Southwell Trail is a former railway line which is now a nature reserve. It served the mining industry in area until the line was closed in the 1960's.

The trail and its associated footpaths have provided many hours of stress free photography over the years. I have never worried too much about the finer technical aspects of image capture along the trail preferring a simple point and shoot approach.

During the summer the trail becomes quite dark and tunnel-like in places as the leaf cover blocks much of the light:

The fields either side of the trail provide continued interest as the farming cycle turns. At this time of year the crops are starting to mature. This year's crop looks to be barley (or may be wheat - I am never totally sure which is which):

There are many wildflowers along the trail. Dog Roses (Rosa canina) are plentiful. There are some odd patches of poppies. I also spotted some orchid plants which I think are Common Spotted-orchids or maybe Heath Spotted-orchids?

An old wooden horse box trailer stands in one of the fields - ideal for textures and colour:

Some of the bridges over the trail have the inevitable graffiti marks and the odd cartoon character!

Trees in summer can be more difficult to capture. They can become very dark in the landscape losing some of branch shape under a mass of green leaves: