Holme Fen: woodland photographs

I finally got out to work on my woodland photography.

In a previous post I had suggested that wanted to try some woodland photography as there are many nice woodlands nearby. For this trip I decided to head to Holme Fen which is an area of the Fens preserved in some manner as it would have been before they were all drained.

Holme Fen caught my eye this last summer on a train journey from Leeds to Huntingdon. Peering out the window I saw a large birch forest. This was interesting as I had not seen such a number of birch trees in the UK. I noted it on the map and kept in mind.

I ventured forth this morning on a cool foggy day. It was overcast so it looked to be flat light and getting there early had no real benefit in terms of light. Having only been there once this was as much about exploring and getting the feel of the place. I walked out to a hide on the edge of some shallow lakes. These were full of raucous waterfowl. I discovered what I had missed on my previous visit; the trail actually goes around the lake. This shifted my plans as I walked around the lake. It turned out to be a nice day out; quiet and with little wind, in many ways ideal.

There was a great variety of geese swans and ducks. They were a noisy and busy lot with lots of squawking, taking off and landing, minor conflicts. It made a wonderful background as they all seemed quite unaware or unconcerned with my presence. One consequence of all of this liveliness was the water was constantly rippling. The glassy calm of a lake was not to be a subject today!

I brought along my Intrepid 4x5 and some film holders with Ilford FP4+. I had also had a sheet of Kodak Ektar and a sheet of Velvia 50 loaded from about a year ago I had forgotten about. This was also my chance to try out the SINAR Zoom 6x12 film back. This I loaded with some Ilford Pan F+ film.

My first photos were full 4x5 taken at the lakes edge. They turned out reasonably well in terms of composition and focus. My envisioned composition included another birch on the right. The vegetation kept me from moving farther back with my 150mm lens. I had forgotten to bring my 90mm lens which would have probably helped in this case! This being a close subject I focused on the nearest branch that projects from the tree and to the upper right.  I then stopped down to f45 with my 150mm lens to bring the rest into focus. (I confirmed this my closing the aperture while looking on the ground glass.) I got crisp focus throughout the whole range of the image foreground and was happy with a softer background. This metered to 8 second exposure.

4x5 Ilford FP4+ Exposed at ASA 80 f45 21 sec (8 sec metered)

Wandering further along the path I was captivated by a small peninsula with a grouping of birch trees at the end. The setting demanded a portrait orientation. This time I focussed on the base of the nearest tree trunk and set the aperture to f45. Again the metered exposure indicated 8 seconds. I used my spot meter but the range of Ev ran from 10 on the ground to 13 in the sky. Dynamic range of the lighting  not a challenge on a day like today. I pushed the tree bark up to between zones 6 and 7 to whiten it a little. 

My one criticism of the composition is that I wished I had included more of the ground around the closest tree. Indeed my recollection was thinking this was a good idea at the time. I was therefore surprised I missed this out. I think it would have located and grounded the image more. 

4x5 Ilford FP4+ Exposed at ASA 80 f45 21 sec (8 sec metered) 

I liked the muted color In this second image and the green mossy ground so decided to use the one Ektar sheet I had left over from last year. I had to send this off to be processed so it arrived a little later. 

Ektar 100 color version

Both black and white images images turned out overexposed after developing. (HC110 dilution B single shot) This was surprising as I metered the two photos carefully.  I consulted my reciprocity app for FP4+ and it indicated 21 seconds. This I believe was the cause of the overexposure. After developing I consulted a 2017 datasheet from Ilford which had revised the calculations with a formula time to the power of 1.26. 8 to the power of 1.26 results in 14 seconds. The image was recoverable on scanning and I think will be printable in part due to the fact light which doesn't challenge the dynamic range of the film too much.

I proceeded around the lake and exited the back of it to walk into the woods and clearings. I took the next three photos on the edge of a Birch forest and along a path. The first 2 with the 150mm lens the third with a 210mm lens. I used my SINAR Zoom back to make 6x12 images in each case. I made a metering mistake as I left the meter set at ASA 80 which is my normal exposure for the FP4+. I had a roll of Pan F+ (ASA 50) in the film holder. Inexplicitedly I remembered to set reciprocity based on PANF+!

By the time I arrived home I realised my mistake. I chose to push the development and used a development time recommend for PANF+ pushed to ASA 100. The negatives turned out well in terms of density. Under-exposure and over-processing tends to increase contrast which is not a problem on a flat day like this.

Birch Forest. 6x12 Ilford Pan F+ f32 2/3 150mm lens

The above photo might be too crowded for my taste. In that sense it might have benefitted from a longer lens to isolate and crop the trees more. A larger print my refute this view.

Down the Lane. 6x12 Ilford Pan F+ f32 2/3 210mm lens

The version of the two above is not the strongest. Not enough is done to lead the eye down the path in the foreground. It would have benefitted from a slightly lower perspective. Moving the front standard down more or lowering the tripod.

Down the Lane 2. 6x12 Ilford Pan F+ f32 2/3 150mm lens

This is the better of the two ‘Down the Lane’ images as the eye is more easily drawn along the path.

I did have one failed image. I forgot to close the dark slide on the SINAR and had removed the lens which of course ruined the image. I suffered the usual problem of distraction that leads to errors. A couple with dogs were walking from behind me and I hurried so I wouldn’t be a nuisance to them.

I wandered further on and found another small lake and made two images of a small island one in landscape the other in portrait. The portrait version is superior. The landscape image suffers from the challenge of woodlands photography. That of managing the high visual complexity. The portrait image solves this problem better. So I learned something. Interesting too as I tend to favour landscape orientations.

Island Shore, 6x12 Ilford Pan F+ f32 2/3 210mm lens

Island Shore 2, 6x12 Ilford Pan F+ f32 2/3 210mm lens

This was a surprisingly productive and useful outing that was mostly about exploring. I gained a new appreciation for venturing out in these less than promising conditions.