With a spring in his step :), a photo from Surrey, England

Photographer's Note

Well, to me this is what spring in the UK is all about - Bluebells! Every year in April/May these perennial bulbs carpet the woodland floor with their beautiful vivid blue flowers.

There are two main species of Bluebells in the UK, these (our native species) which are simply referred to as "Bluebells" and the Spanish Bluebell (an introduced species) - the easy way to tell them apart is to look in the centre of the flower, if the anthers are cream coloured then it's a Bluebell, if they're blue then it's a Spanish Bluebell!

In the background there's a coppiced tree providing the shade that the Bluebells prefer here in the south of England. Coppicing is an ancient woodland management practice dating back at least a thousand years here, and basically involves trimming the tree off at ground level - surprisingly it apparently prolongs the lifespan of the trees which can live up to three times longer than their non-coppiced brethren. Coppicing is useful for making sticks for charcoal production and for providing other thin timber, for broom making and historically making the "wattle" for "wattle and daub" housing.

The main bluebell is "talking to" a bracken frond. Bracken is a fern. More on that here.

I would give you the Latin names for the Bluebell, but there seems to be a certain amount of debate and uncertainty about that! However it is definitely a member of Liliaceae - the Lily family :-)

Riz, digi-mom, adam, skyblue, lost, dgcoene, st-eos, Nina, Isabelle, Rhiannon, vaneiks, danbachmann, johnhopkins, PLD_images, belantis, Albrecht, maloutim, jvachon, beauty-things, afshinazizi oznaczył to zdjęcie jeko użyteczne

Critiques | Translate

Riz (0) 2004-04-28 21:15

wondeful shot you have once again thanks for posting i like your flower shots what excellent detail great comp, would change a thing! where are the orchid shots? hehe ;-)

dgcoene (305) 2004-04-28 21:18

beautiful view. Though I think the mid-part of the shot is a little long, the depth of field is perfect and the colours are amazing.
One of the best notes I've seen on TE, too.
Thanks!

digi-mom (1064) 2004-04-28 23:19

Beautiful depth and composition. I would have been tempted to crop the tree more, but I think you left it as it should be in the back. Very detailed note as well.

vosh (75) 2004-04-28 23:52

Awesome composition. Beautiful to look at. Great job!

gringofil (0) 2004-04-29 0:03

I like flower shots with context...and here we've got major context. I really like the fact that you included the woods as a nice backdrop for the flowers. Amazing, too, that you've managed to capture such excellent bokeh as it makes me focus were, of course, you want me to. Nothing really to nit pick here...excellent shot, Adrian.

[2]

adam (860) 2004-04-29 2:30

The background is great, as is DOF; I like how the tree branches frame the image at top left. To me, the tall bluebell is having an animated conversation with the weed (?) about something. :)

skyblue (69) 2004-04-29 3:10

What a beautiful shot. I like the way that you have captured the tall blue bell and bracken frond together in focus against the blue of the carpet of bluebells. The tree provides a nice natural frame for the scene.

[2]

avigur_11 (22553) 2004-04-29 14:48

a very fine artistic work, Adrian. Great use of DOF, excellent colors, and especially I like the way you kept a large area of blurred background. Very nice shot.

sekl (2063) 2004-04-30 0:46

Wonderful shot! I enjoy colors and composition.
The foreground looks lost connection with the background. Did you use several groups for blurring or it is a natural narrow DOF?
Thank you Adrian.

[2]

lost (694) 2004-04-30 4:39

A beautiful landscape in a great shot.I love the colors.

Luko (14000) 2004-05-01 14:08

That's a lovely shot because the two separate grounds each provide interesting features : bluebell against fern leaf (or whatever, I'm a bit of an ignorant when it comes to flora...) in the foreground and a pointillistic representation of the spring season in the background.
This is also enhanced by the fact you chose a vertical format, giving you enough room to compose for distinctive fore and back grounds.

Of course the separation is due to your excellent choice of DOF but I'll point out my main pick here : I'm distracted with the blurry bluebells in the very foreground, as for my eyes "blurry" means background area in your image, it's like the background was coming to the fore....see...

I would have liked better all the flowers from the foreground to the tallest bluebell to be perfectly sharp. This could IMHO have been possible somewhere near f/8 with the focus closer to the foreground. Of course this should be controled through the viewfinder, but I don't know whether the EOS10 has DOF control.

[2] +

Midnight_sun (1941) 2004-05-03 15:22

Great note! : ) they could be talking, the blue bell and the fern. The background is excellent here; like a painting. well done.

st-eos (137) 2004-05-03 19:15

Excellent job and a great note too. No suggestions to improve! (I've been looking for a bank of bluebells large enough to fill the foreground, I'll have to keep looking!)

Nina (5099) 2004-05-04 3:57

Lovely shot of the bluebell wood Adrian. Thanks for the note, I learnt something today. :)

Rhiannon (1728) 2004-05-11 2:49

Excellent composition and colours!
Love the depth!
Very well done! Interesting note too.

phi729 (2101) 2004-05-22 7:55

The composition of the colors is cold (blue, green, black) and magnificently directed. Contrast between details and blur of the background reinforces the foreground:
Beautiful like a frame in my office!

greg (2835) 2004-06-22 10:40

Very nice, Adrian. I like the isolated stems, but the subtly composed blurred background is especially impressive. By the way, what is a moose polarizer?

naxius (16685) 2004-09-25 4:52

Great composition Adrian! I think that you have managed a great DOF that make the focus on the foreground and all the background is blurred. I like the vertical layout that gives a strong harmony to your shot.
I like it very much.

Alexandre

manny (22032) 2004-11-01 6:28

Excellent Adrian...very excellent. I like the DOF choice an dthe colors make the scene very magical. Superb POV and composition. I wish I can take this kind of shot.

Valentia (1522) 2004-11-04 17:59

Absolutely beautiful photo Adrian, like all of your shots. I love the highlighted foreground and how that is balanced so well with the out of focus background. You have a great eye and a wonderful gift for photography. Keep up the good work!

goblyne (218) 2004-11-09 18:21

wow good job Adrian! really excellently sharp DOF here and nice smooth blur on the rest. i'm usually not too crazy about flower shots since a lot of them are so pointless, but this one is really gorgeous! the graduation of colours from light in the foreground to dark in the background works really well here.

vaneiks (131) 2004-11-10 9:03

good colors, but i would make a background a little bit sharper:)

jafadabret (56501) 2005-05-18 14:36

Le premier plan est mis en valeur par le fond flou le tout est du meilleur effet. On a le sentiment du printemps avec ses fleurs et ses couleurs qui arrive d'un hiver bien morne et bien mort.

DLM (6479) 2005-05-26 16:48

Hi Adrian,This is a beautiful image.
I have tried to take similar shots but have failed ,I guess i will have to wait until next sping now. I love the DOF. and the colours are great, well done.
Dave.

fiedziu (1764) 2005-09-11 16:14

fine picture with superb DOF and colors
thanks for sharing
regards

pilpel-adom (3018) 2005-09-11 17:28

Great compo, Adrian, combining the tree in BG and the bluebells in the FG. Also, good pick of shallow DOF!
Chen

Janice (4403) 2005-09-19 3:32

Hi Adrian, what a wonderful shot of the Bluebell wood. Stunning colours, excellent composition, and your sharp FG bluebells and fern are just great. Very well shown, thank you.

kevinos (7517) 2005-09-26 9:56

A stunning picture, Adrian.The colour is wonderful, so typical of an English spring. Your use of DoF is great, giving the picture a dramatic look. Regards Kevin

PLD_images (7149) 2005-10-04 7:18

Hi Adrian,
I am not a fan of flower images to start with, but this is so muhc more than that. This has fantastic composition where I find that all the colors seem to compliment one and other. And what to say about the DOF, execpt - perfect!
Very nicely done.

gevezeonline (88) 2005-10-15 14:15

WOW!
Very nice shot!

jrleborgne (1554) 2005-11-07 8:20

Wonderful photograph, indeed !
It looks like an impressionist painting.

Albrecht (11283) 2005-11-07 8:31

Hi Adrian
Beautiful POV and great use of DOF. Those colours are wonderful to.
gs Albrecht

sun_web (665) 2005-12-12 22:25

Beautiful shot! Good Color depth and beautiful flowers. I would make the background a bit sharper, though it takes away the sharpness feel from the flowers. Nice shot indeed!

Runs (1072) 2006-01-04 15:05

Hi Adrian,

Nice shot ! Ces superbes fleurs sont magnifiquement mises en valeur par cette profondeur de champs courte et bien maîtrisée.
L'arričre plan est flouté trčs esthétiquement.

Well Done !

Regards, François

rgigliotti (6) 2006-01-13 1:29

great detail and depth. Great job!

krishindu (469) 2006-01-13 1:59

Adrian
Wow, an excellent shot. I couldn't stop looking at this marvellous shot. The FG is so bright and shining, and well immersed in a violet/green ocean fetching far behind...great.

imanory (0) 2006-01-13 2:52

Certainly, this is a very very good photo,very pleasing and serene, feels to me as if I am there.Thanks for sharing.

rushfan2112 (2965) 2006-04-02 14:31

Great photo, Adrian. I will be there in a few weeks looking for a similar shot myself....! Paul.

Dari (24) 2006-04-12 2:35

thats very beautiful, Adrian. can imagine like this field of enchanting flowers was presented to me.....huh...but also looking on picture i feel like my eyes straining, the picture blurring, i think it is because too dim background....anyways thanks, thats pretty....as i'm in Siberia i still can see just snow :)....dunno why your picture remind me the etmosphere of "Cold wind, warm wind" (Ray Bradbury)...

deblink (2548) 2006-07-07 5:13

Hi Adrian,
What a glorious photo. The colours are incredible. We grow bluebells here in Australia to however we have to plant the bulbs. No native bluebells here. However we do have bracken which is poking its head out in the front of the photo. The bracken is not native here either.
Cheers,
Debbie

Brendon (289) 2006-09-03 23:15

Hello Adrian
DOF and POV A+++
The though process you use when setting up for your shots is out of this world. You truly do "see a photograph for what it is - thats the challenge"
Very remarkable photos you have - TFS
Brendon

river_14 (166) 2006-09-20 2:41

Wow! Nie DOF and POV i realy like the color composition... nice Job!

corba (0) 2006-09-20 2:58 [Comment]

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maloutim (13617) 2007-04-23 12:41

Looking into your gallery, I just drop in on this beautiful photo, which is just the theme I am on at the moment.
I like the photo with the sharp bluebells in the foreground (especially the lone one talking to the fern!), and the blurred background.
I find your note very interesting too, and I agree that spring is a beautiful season, especially in England.
TFS.
Marie Louise.

kiks (12805) 2007-09-12 2:41

Again beautiful colours and the unsharp bg works lovely here.
Greets
KIks

picardo (2459) 2008-03-19 20:15

Hi Adrian,
Excellent composition with a very nice DOF on the field and perfectly focused on the flowers. Excellent colors too. Excellent autum picture.
TFS
Picardo

afshinazizi (6) 2009-02-14 13:08

Hello Adrian

What a perfect scene with wonderful details ans attractive colors.

Perfect DOF

TFS

Afshin

Yves-triga (5149) 2009-04-03 3:41

Hello Adrian,
A picture with a depth of field very appropriate. the colors of spring are made.
Nice réalisation.
Yves

Hellas (7123) 2009-05-05 6:14

Hi Adrian!
What a lovely shot!
The shadowy background is perfect, I like the low angle and the exact focus on bluebells! Vivid colors, very good performance!

Thanks!

unsalan (149) 2011-02-13 1:33

Very beautiful photograph. It is like a dream :)

perkyjude (26) 2012-03-08 9:34 [Comment]

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Bobasolo (36) 2013-04-03 3:52

Such a great point of view and colours, beautiful shades of purple on the green with the purple also in the background. TFS