Warren Winter, and Merry Christmas

Two more Winter photos for you to enjoy!

In Epping Forest, on a slope of land leading down from Warren Hill to Whitehall Plain, on a wintry Wednesday when snow had fallen, I took these two photos. It was only 4pm and the sun was already westering, enough to create some beautiful soft lighting. Combined with the soft snow and soft clouds in "Warren Winter Snow", the second image is quite the opposite of the first in which a stark winter oak dominates. The lighting is also rather diametric, with the highlight of the first piece being the tracked-through snow beneath the tree in the lower part of the picture, and the light in the second piece arising from the sun and sun-drenched clouds at the top of the picture.

Much as I love the gentleness of the second photo, and the way the mogul-textured snowy landscape reflects the puffy cotton cloudscape up above, I love the first photo "Warren Wood Winter". Trees are fantastic in so many ways; this one here creates a strong focus, and the twiggy winter branches are a rough contrast to the smooth snow below. The spreading nature of the branches tell a story too, of light and life with room to reach and grow.

May winter be full of light and life for all of you, don't hibernate the whole season through!  
Merry Christmas to everyone, and all the best for the New Year.


 [View the photo gallery]

Store update

New items have been added:

deviantArt store:

• "Birch Curl" is now available as a print!
• "Epping Forest Ancients" is now available as a print!

RedBubble store:

•  "Sky Silhouette" is now available as a print!

Lifebuoy at Loch Cuil Na Caillich

This photo was taken at Loch Cuil Na Caillich (loch of the nook of the old woman), also known as Aigas Loch, on the Aigas Estate in Inverness-shire. I travelled to Aigas for a job interview a fortnight past, and thought the place very pretty indeed (even in its wintry sub-zero state).

The first European Beavers, Castor fiber, in the Scottish Highlands in over four centuries were introduced to the loch here (see the Aigas website for more info). This occurred back in 2006, and although the beaver pair were enclosed they seem to have thrived within their two hundred acre space and have even had kits. Signs of beaver activity were ubiquitous during my circumambulation of the loch, from felled trees and signs of feeding through to tracks, dams and a veritable lodge. These were the first beavers in the Scottish Highlands in over four centuries

The loch is also utilised by other wildlife. Right here on the jetty, just to the left of the frame, we found and identified some Pine Marten scat. An otter was also spotted on the water that very morning. So even on a frigid, frosty morning, the deceptively placid loch can play host to a lively troupe of exciting animals.

On the surface, however, this is a peaceful photo of a calm loch. The surface of the water, where it is iced over, shows geometric striations. The jetty provides a man-made frame to the natural scene, with an additional anthropogenic detail in the form of the boathouse on the distant shore. The lifebuoy a splash of colour to focus on in the fore.

[View the photo gallery]