The previous days had brought thick clouds, wind, and chilly temperatures, so when the forecast predicted calmer, warmer, and brighter weather, we couldn't quite believe our luck! Spring had been somewhat (predictably for the UK) changeable, with extremely warm and cold days, so some of the flowers were past their best. Thankfully, however, the Woodland Walk and adjacent meadows couldn't have looked better! At first, given the clear skies, beaming sunshine and the resulting contrast, you'd think photographing woodland and meadow flowers would be out of the question - but, on the contrary, it worked to our advantage, producing beautiful backlighting and swirling, multicoloured bokeh. At times, looking through the viewfinder felt like stepping into a painting!
All made with a Nikon Z7 and a 70–200mm lens, I find that working in manual exposure is by far the most straightforward and reliable means of obtaining consistent results, where you know, precisely, what settings you're using as opposed to letting the camera decide for you. There's no rush; after all, it's not as if the flowers are going to run away!
For the most part, tripods were not at all practical since to obtain these, I needed to position myself extremely close to the shrubs and, as in the case below, work on tip-toe.
As the day progressed, the light became warmer and, on the flowers, more transient, so we had to work more quickly and, at times, with some urgency.
The nature of this workshop is extremely relaxed, helped in no small part by the spacious, beautiful surroundings and the fact that it's held on a 'closed' day, resulting in us having the run and not at all being concerned with being in the way of members of the public. I'm sure to be holding another next year, so if you're interested in attending, you can either drop me a line expressing your interest or pop back from time to see if it has been added to the workshops page. In either case - and even if you'd rather not attend such a workshop - I can’t recommend a visit to Doddington Place Gardens highly enough, at any time of year.
