Human nature

The blue light that lit up the woods yesterday was evident again this morning as the sun filtered through the trees. One or two comments on yesterday's pic show just how a picture alone does not always tell the truth. It was indeed a lovely spot in what, on the whole, was a fine walk. But this walk was hardly tranquil. We had just passed over a bridge spanning the busy A3 when the picture was taken, but film doesn't show noise. Nor does the picture highlight the car park about 50 yards from the trees. The car park is popular among dog walkers during the day but after dark it's a notorious dogging spot. Funny how such a subtle shift in language and light can leave an alarming gulf in meaning and experience, a bit like one of those vampire films where you know there's going to be trouble when the sun sets.

Sadly today's picture doesn't tell the whole truth either. I wanted to capture the sun filtering through the trees in this woodland. It looks pretty rustic in a Vaughan Williams kind of way. In fact it's a small strip of wood less than 100 yards deep, between a park on one side and a rough housing estate on the other. There was junk strewn in some of the clearings and a condom hanging from a twig - not a nice place. And that's what you get on the urban fringe - nature in retreat from human nature.