Photo of the Year 2008: bluebells

[mackay123]

hi folks, i've been going through some pics from earlier in the year and found this one. out of about 200 shots taken that morning this was about the best, but for some reason the apertures at f7.1 (experimenting maybe?, i can't remember), which i wouldn't exactly call ideal for this type of shot but i thought i'd share it anyway, i've cropped a bit from the bottom due to the shallow DOF, i'm already looking forward to next year's bluebells!, C&C most appreciated!, thanks for looking!

[O.K.]

Excellent image Steve!
Nice combination of purple flowers( I think they are lupines) and trees with fresh new leaves.

Generally, I like all seasons but after looking this image I missed springtime.

In my opinion f/5.6 to f/8 is ideal for this type shots if you use hyperfocal distance. You can get the most possible sharpness.

Orhan

[LWP]

Nicely done Steve!
Really love the shot, it's always amazing to find locations like this - those which seem so untouched by human kind. Love the colours and the position of the horizon. Have you tried this as a contrasty black and white? Might be worth a try, even if you lose that lovely purple colour.

[William]

It's a lovely shot with a really fresh feeling that reminds us of better days and days to come. There is a lot of trees but it's still a simple(simple in the good way) scene with just a few colors and no distractions, and that simplicity is what I like the most. Excellent, Steve! Keep going through those archives, now must be the best time.

[LWP]

I wanted to say something along the lines of what William has just come out with, but couldn't think of what to say so ^^ what he said!!

[mackay123]

hi orhan, lee and william!, thanks for comments, i miss springtime too!, will try a B/W version (although the detail and dynamic range isn't that good in this one), also i've really struggled taking photo's this past month due to the weather/light/ so now is definetly the best time to go through the archives!.
thanks again guys!

P.S, the bluebells species is hyacinthoides non scripta........i think?

[mr.penguin]

I really like these trees emerging form a purple carpet,
fantastic colours and light

[SteB]

Very nice shot Steve, and a classic looking Bluebell wood. I like the composition and the diagonal of the slope. As William says, simple in the good way. Its a bit of a coincidence as I have just been going through my Bluebell shots, thinking of spring.

The weather and light have been terrible of late so its a good time to go through our images.

By the way if anyone is interested, the UK's Bluebell woods are pretty unique and we have a large proportion of the world's Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scriptus) woods. My understanding is that in Continental Europe there are only a few other Atlantic facing places such as Normandy, France in which this type of flower/woodland is common. I think in the UK we tend to take our Bluebell woods for granted and don't realise that they are unique to this part of the world.

[rosemarie]

This is a thoroughly delightful image! for all the reasons others have given.

Since you call it "Bluebells," I wondered if cropping the two trees on either edge might work. No, it didn't (I used a screen ruler), but if just one side were cropped so that its framing treetrunk did not show, an interesting thing happens--a different one for each side. More things to play with as the sun sinks lower and lower.

[joykafka]

Really beautiful and comfortable landscape photo. Nothing more to add.

[Jiri Slama]

Very nice and simply beautiful shot! It almost look like painted and it also look like in a fairytale - I have never seen anything like this!

[mackay123]

hi mr penguin!, thanks!

hi steve, thanks for comments!, would like to see some of your bluebell pics?, i've heard that some of our bluebell woods have spanish bluebells in them (from peoples gardens maybe?), or insects cross polinate these spanish bluebells with our native bluebells creating hybrid bluebells, not good!

hi rosemarie!, thanks for comments!, i will have a go at the cropping you suggest, thanks for the advise!

hi joykafka and jiri !, thanks for comments, yes it's quite an amazing moment being in a bluebell wood in full bloom.

[danekpavel]

I'm quite surprised how well this simple shot works, great job indeed, I really like it!

[mackay123]

thanks danekpavel!

[SteB]

The Spanish Blubells (Hyacinthoides hispanica) are quite a problem. They have been widely planted in garderns and semi-wild areas. They are bigger than the native Bluebells and tend to hybridise with them, which is the biggest problem. Whilst it is easy to tell them apart and some of the hybrids are easy to recognise, I am not sure about whether further hybridisation could make them difficult to separate. Generally the native (H. non-scripta) have a delicate flower head which curves over, the Spanish Bluebells tend to be much more robust and the flower stalk is usually fairly straight and doesn't bend over. In my area (Lancs, UK) the hybrids are most noticeable in areas of woodland near to houses or parks. You tend to find patches of them.