Where should I shoot? #1 - Forest walks

Yesterday I went on a walk with my camera

But it was not just a walk in the park.

I'm going to talk in this post about where to shoot when you're bored, but instead of just saying "Hurr hurr go to a city hurrdehurr go to a forest", I'm going to go to those places and hopefully give some insight into what I learned during my trip there, which in turn should hopefully help you out when deciding where to go on a slow, unoccupied day.

Let's make the first photo one of the worst. It's a nice photo, don't get me wrong, but I feel that I really need to find better ways to capture flowers. Anyway...

 It was a Friday morning, the sun was trying to push its way through the onslaught of thick, grey clouds, and I just decided that for whatever reason, in that moment, I wanted to take my camera (and more kit) outside. Maybe it was boredom, maybe it was passion, maybe it was neither, who knows. Right near me (about a half mile walk) is the small village of Welton, a lovely place to be, but I was interested in one specific piece of land at the top of Kidd Lane hill. There is a deliciously empty field with a few power lines, a long stretch of road and a nice area of woodland. It would be a nice walk, I'd capture some nice images and I would get out and "get my steps up". [1]

 The benefits of a photo trip such as this are many. Obviously, you have the health aspect of burning calories, increasing your stamina and all of the usual benefits that come with long walks. It's also a really good way to clear your head and think about things that are important to you, something that I needed at the time[2]. But as a photographer, whether you enjoy landscape photography or close-up shots or portrait shots or whatever, generally speaking, there is always something to sink your teeth into[3]. I, for one, am very keen on close-up shots of smaller details. You can clearly tell I'm one of those "bokeh warriors" that people jabber on about[4].

Welton's very own Route 50, except it sort of ends where that car is.

 You sort of have a pick of the litter when you explore varied areas like these. As previously mentioned, I could choose from open fields, long roads, tall subjects, small subjects, fine details, busy backgrounds, long distance, short distance, space for wide angles and definitely plenty to capture with a cropped lens. Flowers, trees, animals, nature, dumped items [5], rusty fences, broken wire fences and likely abandoned vehicles and machinary, in the right places. With such a vast list of subjects to choose from, you can develop your skills in areas you're competent in, or equally as effective, just try something new!

I put this in here because it was my first go at trying to replicate what I imagine a bog-standard disposable would take, with obviously more detail, so I stuck with 35mm, decreased the contrast and tried to choose a subject that's sort of 'old-looking'.

 My only gripe with this environment is that I did very often find it difficult to settle on a perspective, an angle, a focal length or anything. I honestly believe that I am unhappy with every picture until after I am done editing it[6]. So if you're the sort of person that likes to shoot JPEGs and do all of your colouring in-camera, then I suggest you crack out your filters, because I know I wouldn't be happy with any photos otherwise.

 After a good couple of hours of shooting, both photo and video, I decided to head back. The interesting part at this point was how much more of a perspective I had on everything. I had taken so many photos and 'worn in my shoes' [7] that I took another look at where I stood and found more stories to tell and ideas to explore. That's when I stumbled across the mini-forest on the floor and took this shot.

Now this was a picture with a purpose. I was aiming to depict a stance of equality with this. Just the idea that even though we may feel small, or sometimes feel like we will never match up to those who are 'bigger' than us, we are all the same.

 After getting a few snaps, I was ready to head back home through Welton. My day was done. I came here seeking time to myself, a new perspective and a challenge. What did I get out of it? Well, for one, I got some cracking pictures and hopefully managed to portray a few ideals with them. I had time to myself, which is time to reflect, time to think, time to make decisions, draft ideas, experience the beauty of the green world around me and above all, a chance to be happy without others, something that I have struggled with my whole life.

 So there we have it. Hopefully, next time you say "I don't have anything interesting to shoot near me", you can lay down that excuse, and go outside. Go for a walk. Go for a drive. Find a nice area of solitude and sanctuary, experience the land with a clear head and tell stories you otherwise would never have.

I laid on top of this miniature stone bridge with my hand in the water to get this shot.

Note: If you follow my YouTube channel, I will be posting a little vlog of my time at the forest, where I talk a bit more about why I was there. And as always, more of the photos of that day are available on my Instagram page. 

If you like the look of any pictures I take, you are more than welcome to contact me and I will be able to provide high quality copies for any purpose, be it for a website, a motivational post or even to put on the living room wall.

[1] As per the saying goes, thanks to the ever-so-popular FitBit craze. I don't have one, but the pedometer on my phone is sufficient enough to give me a target and motivation.

[2] At the time of writing this, there's a lot going wrong in my life and all of the good things are unfortunately things that need a lot of time. New job potentials, moving house, acquiring gear to help further my photography. You get it. A long walk on your own can equally do as much bad as it can good. Thankfully, it was in my favour that day and I was able to focus on the good and get some nice shots!

[3] Yeah, you will see that a great deal of the subjects are the same stuff that you see every person and their grandma shooting on their phones for Instagram with cryptic captions and meaningful punchlines (Something that I'm guilty of), but in this case, you've got the chance to shoot it differently and tell a different story. Don't be afraid to shoot common photos and then shoot them again differently.

[4] The sort of person who craves the blurred background. For example:

[5] I found 4 rusty car wheels (the sort of thing Steve from Sin City Motors would put on a rat rod), a beaten yet playable acoustic guitar, a clothes-horse (of all the things) and a lawnmower which had nature growing out of it. I did try to take a photo of that, but the angle I chose left me guessing the composition since I could use the screen or viewfinder. Turns out I had manual focus on.

[6] Every single one of these photos looked like trash to me, until I spent some time re-framing, cropping and colouring them in Lightroom. Et voila, now I love them.

[7] My first photos are never great. I usually take a good few photos before I start getting into the creative mindset.