It is sunny, with a warm westerly breeze and white puffy clouds meandering through the sky. The Met Office forecast of fine and bright with a light breeze hasn’t disappointed. The footpath you are on leads to nowhere in particular. You are happy to be out for a walk on a day like this and treasure every moment. As you walk along, you see a stand of trees with a carpet of Bluebells underneath. The sun is creating dappled light on the Bluebells with pools of light produced by the canopy above and long shadows of trees. You see a group of three vibrant blue flowers standing away from the rest. You focus on this group of Bluebells and let the background progress into soft-focus patches of blues, greens and browns. You look at the results of your efforts and smile.

You continue walking over a hill, then down into a meadow. Here a stream is flowing next to the footpath. The chirping of birds and the hum of bees accompany the sounds of the stream. The breeze is rustling the grass and lightly caresses your face. The stream snakes through the meadow until you see the yellow flowers of Buttercups and Dandelions by the thousands against a carpet of green. You use the stream, curving first to the left, then back to the right before a final turn to the left, to lead your viewers eye through the greens and yellows of the meadow. Again, you are pleased with the results.

Walking up another hill, the ground flattens out. The footpath heads for the horizon and a lone tree in the distance. A tree that is surrounded by a field of Rapeseed in bloom. As you walk toward the tree, you can see how the prevailing winds have shaped the tree over time. Like the windsock at an airport, the tree points in the direction that the wind is heading. Clouds like candy floss gather at the horizon while a few others make their presents known against an azure blue sky. The blue of the sky is punctuated by the tree’s green leaves, and you decide to keep it simple. Keep the horizon low to include more of the sky, letting the interaction of the yellows, blues, and greens do most of the work for you. The counterpoint of a couple puffy clouds adds that little something extra. This is a day photographers dream about.

If you are interested in photography, we invite you to join the Tetbury Camera Club. We welcome photographers of all levels. You can get more information about the Tetbury Camera Club and our programme of online meetings, please visit us at TetburyCameraClub.org.uk

This is an article I wrote for the Tetbury Camera Club that appeared in the June 2021 edition of the Tetbury Advertiser.