Bluebells – Andy's Photography blog

One notable absence from my photographic calendar in the last two or three years, has been the annual pilgrimage to photograph the bluebells at Emsworthy Mire on Dartmoor.

This particular location is very popular with photographers, as it has a barn with a rusting tin roof to add contrast to the trees surrounding it, as well as the blanket of bluebells that parade their late spring splendour in the sunshine.

I had imagined that this well photographed scene would form the basis of this particular ‘one frame’ post but as I looked through the many images I captured on the day, it is this view that I particularly liked more than the cliched image.

The said barn is hidden from view just right of centre in the cluster of trees but it was the wall in the foreground forming a kind of frame that I liked, the small cluster of bluebells at its base, then the centre ground with its cavalcade of colour that completed the scene for me.

In just a few days, this scene will disappear for another year but the memories of this beautiful late spring morning will remain.

In the years that I have spent on my photographic journey, it is clear that in every photographer’s repertoire, certain iconic images are sought by amateurs and professionals alike.

The row of coloured beach huts lining a seaside beach front, the colours of morning sunrises and evening sunsets and those late spring woodlands carpeted in bluebells, just to name a few.

It is the latter that forms a variation on a theme for day 32 of my 50mm challenge, bluebells.

There is a popular location on Dartmoor where it is possible to capture these beautiful spring flowers in all their glory, a place that I have not visited for over two years because of lockdown, so I was looking forward to this walk immensely.

Unsure of whether there would be the sea of blue I was hoping for, there is plenty here to photograph, it’s just that the bluebells really add that something to any image here.

Its a short stroll from the car park to my destination, it is clear that although it is just after ten AM, there is plenty of other photographers already here, toting huge wildlife lenses, their prey, a pair of redstarts nesting in the vicinity, as well as a pair of elusive cuckoos.

I try to keep a distance from these photographers, so as not to disturb the subject they may have waited some time for already, I work around the scene skirting my main objective.

One of the photographers takes some to chat to me, he has already photographed the redstarts, he also shows me some wonderful images of the stonechats and wheatears he has captured today, I admire his patience, he admires my discipline in shooting one focal length for a long period of time.

Once they have moved on to other locations, I am able to work closer to the old barn that adds such a lovely contrast to the verdant grass and of course, the bluebells.

Once again, I have my favourite vintage 50mm attached to my camera, manually focusing is a more deliberate and enjoyable process than half pressing a shutter or back button focusing, I am an integral part of the image making, not a bit part player.

In the space of an hour, the location is filling with more walkers and photographers, it is time for me to make room for them to get their shots of spring time glory.