Cowslips and Cuckoo flowers

A quick recce of a few favourite nature reserves, in preparation for next weeks Kent’s Wildflowers workshop, gave me the opportunity to get a few shots of some of the flowers that are around at the moment.  I don’t like to take pictures myself when leading workshops since the emphasis should always be on tuition rather than my own photography, but occasionally I may sneak a picture off, especially if the subject is too hard to resit! 

The 300mm f.2.8 really comes into it’s own in situations like these.  A shorter lens would have resulted in sky appearing in the top of the frame.  Shot almost wide open also throws the background out of focus and really makes the flowers stand out.  Their other name is the Cuckoo flower as they tend to be in bloom approximately the same time as the arrival of the cuckoo.  I haven’t heard any yet and really hope it’s not another ‘quiet’ year, as was the case last year.

Tags: cowslip, cuckoo flower, lady's smock, nikon 300mm, photography workshop, spring, tuition, workshop