Bluebell Woods

It only seems like a week ago since I was moaning that the bluebells were exceedingly late this year but I was pleasantly surprised when I walked up into the woods at Foxlake to see a forest floor full of bluebells. I have a mixed track record in taking decent shots of bluebells. I am usually really excited whilst I am shooting my shots but disappointed when I come to look at them on the computer screen. and today was no exception. The real problem is that they tend to grow in dappled sunlight and it is almost impossible to balance out the extremes of light and shadow. HDR is usually not adoption as the flowers are inevitably blowing gently in the breeze. Today the light was cloudy at times with short periods of dappled sunlight and I tend to underexpose too much to cope with the blown out highlights. What did work for me this time was using my macro lens with an extension tube to get close-ups with plenty of detail.