Christmas Eve on the Trail

After the Christmas break I have returned to my photo processing to find myself well behind schedule and somewhat phased by a stack of autumn colour shots taken in November. I am finding it particularly difficult to edit the collections in any meaningful way for my blogposts so I thought I would try something a little more straight forward: a selection of images taken on Christmas Eve along the Southwell Trail. 

Christmas Eve is a memorable day in itself but the morning light made it extra special. The sun was lifting the overnight frost in plumes of gentle smokiness creating a series soft halos along the trail. There was a feeling of being guided by the light - very apt for the time of year!

Any lingering mistiness eventually cleared leaving crisp bright conditions for the rest of the day...perfect!

And a mono version to emphasise the vapour trails and clouds..

Blidworth Woods (November 2018)

I was delighted to see Blidworth Woods feature in the viewpoints section of January 2019's edition of Outdoor Photography (p49). It is great to see a local venue, and more generally Nottinghamshire, getting promoted as a location for landscape photography. It may not be 'classic' landscape territory but the wider Sherwood Forest area, which includes Blidworth Woods, is fantastic for anyone who loves trees and tree photography.

On this particular visit to the woods I had misjudged my timings - having not fully adjusted to the clocks moving back a few days previously. When I arrived the light was already dropping fast and I had to quickly move to the higher ground to capture the last rays of the day:

Later, with a high ISO and fading light, I picked out some of the autumn colours:

Ash Trees (November 2018)

Although I had decided not to repeat last year's series on the Southwell Trail, I still take many photographs as part of my daily walks. I guess I enjoy capturing the changing conditions along the trail. Each day I see different weather and different light and it always inspires me to reach for the camera.

To illustrate this point I have selected images of my favourite trail ash trees to show the range of conditions during late October and November. I hope this selection demonstrates the value of returning to locations on a regular basis whether it is a stunning landscape venue or a simple local scene, like ash trees in a field...

Autumn Glow (October 2018)

More wonderful autumn sunshine on the Southwell Trail, Nottinghamshire. On this occasion it was the last sunlight of the day catching the tops of trees and the higher ground on the Hexgreave Estate including the road leading to the southern entrance.

As a point of local interest, I found a picture of this road on Farnsfield's History Society website which I think dates to the early part of the last century. It shows the road passing under a railway bridge which was removed when the line was closed in the 1960's. All that remains today is a dip in the Southwell Trail which is steeper than it actually looks and often tests the puff of many unaware walkers and cyclists: