Happy with my April bluebell photography, for the first bank holiday weekend of May, the plan was to head out to the high weald woodland to try and capture some wild garlic.

Telham Hill Garlic

It was a clear misty morning when I arrived at a patch of woodland on the high weald in east Sussex between Hastings and Battle near Telham Hill. Discovered this woodland a few years ago out on a morning walk exploring footpaths not trodden before.

I had scouted out this location a few weeks before when checking out the bluebells which were now pass their peak and beginning to brown and wilt. Garlic is typical of May during spring and thrives in damp wet conditions close to streams and muddy banks. It usually peaks a little after the bluebells but each year can vary.

Woodland Sunburst

With the composition above F/18 and a tripod ensured a sunburst through the trees adding an element of interest. Not have to worry about shutter speed as no wind. Perhaps should have got down lower to hide the muddy bank which I find distracting not being filled with water. With these kind of compositions that include a sunrise a wide angle shot with a close up of the garlic flowers can work well.

Rather than including the sun in the frame I often prefer side lighting compositions with the sunlight raking across the woodland garlic and highlighting the tree trunks. With no wind choosing a small aperture of F16 focusing 1/3 into the frame often is enough to ensure focus throughout without the tedium of focus stacking. When including the trunks of trees try to keep the frame balanced. A very wide trunk close up can have to much visual weight. Also try to keep separation between the tree trunks which I have not achieved above. Also an odd number works better.

White Balance

With woodland photography white balance selection is an important camera setting. I find Auto white balance (AWB) works well with the white of the garlic, but not so the blue of the bluebells turning them too lilac or purple. I find the sunlight settings works well with bluebells. Remember these are just cooler to warmer Kelvin settings sometimes its best to set your white balance manually, ensuring the image in live view matches the colours you are witnessing with your naked eye.

Mountfield Garlic Woodland

After exploring Telham Hill the plan was to take a good hike around the woodlands of Mountfield between Battle and Robertsbridge in east Sussex. Parking up near the church in Mountfield I could see a big blue patch of bluebells on the forest edge that had not noticed before. I usually park up at Johns Cross this time of year and walk from there. Due to the rise and fall of the hilly landscape this would be out of sight from that angle. This highlights the importance of how the landscape changes different seasons and from different viewpoints.

Nice side light hitting the fresh green foliage of some oak trees amid the carpets of bluebells. A lot of the bluebells were late bloomers but the early ones were beginning to fade. Not including them close up but in a telephoto compressed shot includes the colour but not the intimate details of individual flowers.

Garlic Woodland Discovery

Walking down the main footpaths from Mountfield that have walked many times before took a little detour into the woodland following some smaller tracks. A new garlic wonder woodland opened up before my eyes off the beaten track.

Basically following deer tracks through the garlic being careful not to tread on any of the delicate flowers. Tried to include a stream into the garlic woodland composition with a moss covered log crossing over the banks which were not too dark and muddy. Experimented with a polariser to remove any bright reflections on the water and foliage. Woodland photography is known for its chaos when composing shots it can be difficult to exclude so many distractions, too find order in the chaos.

Harsh Light Contrast

Was late in the morning now so the light was a bit contrasty. I was already making plans to return tomorrow morning at dawn with much softer light and with the weather app predictions looking promising. There had been mist in the morning clinging to the valleys of the high weald but for it to be lingering in the garlic woodland was just too much to ask for.

Garlic woodland return

Returned the next morning to the woodlands between Mountfield and Robertsbridge on the high weald. The woodland being in a valley of the hilly high weald it can be difficult to predict when the sunlight will be optimum. But there is no substitute for just getting up and being outdoors on location and observing the light and conditions.

Having made only one visit to this garlic woodland had a few rough ideas of the possible compositions so far. Walking along to the location of one of these, this early morning view hit me by surprise with the sunlight streaming though from the side.

Technical Errors

The dynamic range of light was too high to capture in a single frame so had to shoot bracketed, 3 shots 2 stops apart. I must have knocked the dial in the process as shot in shutter priority without realising rather than manual mode. The individual exposures changed aperture not shutter speed without me checking or realising. Consequently too out of focus in the background. Should have been F/16. To me this image has a lot of potential although early was not early enough, the problem with this time of year with sunrise being around 5:15AM.

Post Processing Corrections

Imagine sun rays breaking through mist in the background which is common this time of year as it is around September. I had deliberately gone through the images from the day before in this garlic wonderland. We learn alot post processing the images, The technical and compositional errors stand out on the big screen and making detail edits. This creates a feedback loop where we can correct the errors we made on previous trips.

As with the photo above, need to get the aperture correct but also some micro adjustments to the composition as well as returning earlier with less contrasty light. On a subsequent visit maybe using the 16-35mm wide angle lens rather than 24-70mm. Down lower to exclude the uninteresting dark muddy bank, slightly higher and too the right to exclude the bright patch on the far left and include more trees. Detailed garlic flowers up close which would likely require focus stacking.

Probably wont get the chance now until next year as the weather is not favourable over the next few days and back to work. Also I think the garlic has reached its peak, maybe even peaked. When photographing flowers they should not be pass their peak for the best shots. The best photographs usually come after many visits to the same location often over many years. But I had found a new garlic woodland location due to getting outdoors and scouting that was way off the beaten track and unlikely photographed before.

Photo within a photo

A composition I spent more time on than I probably should have had a distracting and busy background. I was more focused on the thick beds of garlic around the moss covered log over the stream.

Incidentally this composition looks better later in the morning with the sun higher in the sky backlighting the foliage of the beech trees in the background. Looking at the frame I think there is more a photo in the photo, cropping into the log and beds of garlic and the green reflection off the stream of water. While exploring the garlic woodland was hoping to come across a small water feature like a waterfall but had to be content with moss covered logs.

Garlic Woodland Photography Tips

So too finish the post on garlic woodland photography thought I would summarise what I have learnt so far on this fascinating subject.

• Scout out woodland locations in your local area, those insignificant looking patches of woodland on OS Maps can turn up gems.
• Check every nook and cranny, explore blind spots, leave no stone unturned.
• Garlic loves damp woodland so nearby to streams can be a good source of discovery and compositions.
• As the garlic loves damp conditions so do mosquitos and midges, wear insect repellent on exposed skin.
• With the mud like salt water on the coast extend the bottom legs of the tripod first, keeping the clamps and your hands clean.
• Being damp and wet, wear suitable clothing and footwear, I have returned home caked in mud and slipped over a few times.
• If including water features or wet foliage experiment with and without a polariser.
• As with all flowers shoot them at their peak especially if including in foreground closeup. When flowers peak, changes year to year, for garlic usually end of April beginning of May.
• Rise early, morning light I think works best in spring woodland, if you are lucky you might get some morning mist.
• Your not including the sky in your frames, avoid bright distracting areas in the background. You want a clear morning with no wind and choose your source of light – side lit, front lit or backlit.
• Get to know the location with repeat visits different times of day and conditions this will yield the best results.
• When making repeat visits make sure you have studied and post processed the images from the previous trip, this will highlight technical and compositional mistakes you can avoid and the best compositions.
• Wide angle is usually the best compositions for garlic, F16 focused 1/3 into the frame on some flower heads. If really in close may need to focus stack.
• Check your white balance in live view and change if necessary, I find AWB works well with a bed of white garlic.
• If including tree trunks consider balance within the frame, their visual weight and their separation. The garlic should be the main subject.
• Try to exclude distractions and busy backgrounds, morning mist can help with this. But ignore distractions that can easily be removed post processing.
• Its best to keep to a linear track there and back, else keep looking behind you, I have missed many compositions not looking behind me.
• Needless to say, tread carefully in the woodland, sticking to the footpaths and at the very least animal tracks in deep forest.

Without Boredom

A beautiful couple of early May mornings spent in thick garlic woodland on the high weald in east Sussex. Keeps me out of trouble and a great way to fill your time. Its very strenuous walking in hilly woodland constantly bending up and down adjusting the tripod, so you get a great workout.

I have had many hobbies before that I lost interest in including fishing, programming and travel. Landscape photography does take out some of the best elements from the previous list of hobbies I got bored with and combines them. After 8 years of landscape photography not feeling the slightest bit of boredom with it. Its so easy to include variety with the seasons and exploring new locations. In many ways photography is secondary to just being in the great outdoors how could you ever tire of that…

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