Bluebell walk

If you love the British springtime, with it's promise of lighter evenings to come and the sudden burst of colours that the bluebells bring, then this post is for you.

The Bluebell walk at Arlington is a sight to behold. Thousands of bluebells adorn this beautiful woodland and whilst it attracts many visitors each year, it is large enough for you to feel that you have the magic all to yourself.

Located in Arlington, near Polegate in East Sussex, the site offers plenty of parking and refreshments on site. It is dog friendly and the entry fee of £6 per adult is donated to charity.

I chose to visit late afternoon after having lunch at a nearby pub. I wanted the light to be dappled and create some whimsical feels of fairy folk mischief.

Each year, there is a photo competition for capturing the best image. Bluebells are actually quite hard to photograph so my tips would be to try and find a focal point so the image is a bit more interesting. Pathways and tree stumps are always a good starting point.

Play around with angles and light, when the sun comes through the trees and is dappled on the canopy floor, this makes for a lovely photograph.

Look for opportunities to enhance the depth, hillsides work well for this.

Take lots of photo's whilst you are there, it might make it more time consuming when you are home and starting to filter out the not so great images and editing but at least you will have much more to work with.

The use of bokeh works really well when photographing flowers, you can choose on what to focus on and what to keep more blurred.

I think the thing with photography is just practice practice practice, the same with most things in life. I have so many photo's on my camera roll and I pay so much for storage as I loathe deleting images but the more you take the sooner you will identify your photography style and start to hone in on your niche.

Learning to be patient is also paramount. No matter how early you arrive, or how late you choose to stay to try and avoid the crowds, there will always be other people either doing the same as you or just there enjoying themselves. I used to get so frustrated but over time I have become more patient and sometimes you come home with a better shot than you had originally planned.

For those of you who don't care for photography but just enjoy spending time in nature. Arlington bluebells is well worth the visit. It really takes your breath away, the colours and the scent is amazing.

I shall be back next year! 

Where is your favourite place to photograph bluebells?