BLUEBELLS BENEATH THE SUMMIT, NEWTON WOOD

Woodland Hyacinth, otherwise commonly known as Bluebells, rank as a quintissential English Flower, and are a constant cog in the seasonal cycle, heralding the Spring to Summer Transition.

Pacing a freshly canopied woodland is a sensual thrill anywhere, but Newton Wood within the shadows of Roseberry Topping’s 1049 feet summit has a special poignance to every Teessider. Before planting my Manfrotto Tripod carefully between the colourful mosaic of swaying Bluebells, sprouting from a Jurassic Sandstone landmass, I grappled with whether or not to portray this idyllic woodland Scene in either portrait or landscape format. Half an hour later, I was still wrestling with the predicament of focusing only on the dappled light on the carpeted woodland floor or including the summit of Roseberry Topping behind the trees.

Finally, I decided that by opting for the landscape format, I could impart a more serene mood to the woodland vista committed to Fuji Velvia Slide Film. Keeping the summit of Roseberry Topping to the right, below the bows of the tree on the right, put this famous Teesside landmark into perspective, using a 55mm medium wide angle lens. Clicking the shutter on my Pentax 6 x 7 cm. medium format camera was still by no means a foregone conclusion, as I needed to employ a staggered 0.9 Neutral Density Graduated Filter diagonally across the blue sky to balance the foreground and highlight detail. Adding a Warm-Up filter and cable release completed my choice of accessories, before I tripped the shutter at an exposure of 1 second @ f/22.

FROM GALLERY 2 - LANDSCAPES INLAND FROM THE NORTH EAST COAST