May 2009 - Springtime in Middleton Woods, Ilkley

Middleton Woods is one of the most stunning woodlands I have visited for some time. It is just on the outskirts of Ilkley, barely an hour away from home, and I'm wondering why it's taken me so long to realise it's there. It's a very popular and easily accessed location but is big enough to allow the photographer to find the odd quiet and empty spot. Crucially it is also not too 'messy' a wood.

Wonderful carpets of bluebells can be found all over the UK, although some areas of native bluebell are sadly now threatened by the far less attractive Spanish variety. However, from a photographic perspective, there is often too much mess (albeit natural mess - fallen branches, spindly saplings, brambles, and so on).

With a good number of mature oak and beech trees, bluebells interspersed with bracken and rocky outcrops, the woodland here has a certain kind of natural order. Not too structured but enough to allow the photographer to find a composition that works. When we use our eyes to view a scene, there are no such restrictions, no outer edge beyond which we cannot see. Yet photographers and painters have to decide where the view stops and getting the boundaries 'right' will determine whether or not the final image works. Inevitably the final decision will always be subjective and there will be compromises.

Here I hope I have provided a glimpse of some of what makes Middleton Woods so beautiful. The vibrant greens of young oak leaves and bracket, the soft reds of copper beech in Spring, and of course the amazing purple of our native bluebell. All of these are held together by the strong form of the oak tree trunks - even if I do wish the foremost of these had more of a curve! The relatively long exposure time is also crucial - it was a windy evening and the movement of the softly lit leaves enhances the vibrant colours.