Sometimes a walk through the woods and a Reservoir is all you need.

The reservoir at Moorgreen is one of those “Blink and you miss it” kind of locations and it is somewhere that I had not been to in many years, I have fond memories of walking at Moorgreen reservoir and it was on the 31st of May 2021 that I decided what better thing to do than revisit it, and take a walk down memory lane. Of course though the recent warm weather had meant that I did not want to do my mad dogs and Englishmen impression, and have a walk in the heat of the day, instead I wanted to escape the heat and the call of Moorgreen reservoir was just tempting me; after all I knew that the path that runs alongside the reservoir would be sheltered by the glorious tall trees that form part of the wider Moorgreen woods, here the woodland gently slopes down to the shores of Moorgreen reservoir and these woods even when I was younger provided many happy memories that I still have inscribed in my memory. Still, despite it being a while since I last walked this glorious pathway, I knew that some things might have changed and the landscape would be much more different.

Yet in some ways I was proven wrong to the changes that might have occurred, instead when I first set foot on the path it seemed as familiar as it had done all those years ago. To the right of me is the old gatehouse which is a clue to what else lies within these woods and is hidden from prying eyes. Yes it really is amazing what secrets woodlands can hold and this was no exception. Either way the path lay ahead, but I paused for a moment and looked over a gate, which at one time you could walk through towards the reservoir, now though it is all closed off, unless you are an angler with a permit; oh how the times change don’t they. But that did not matter. Yes, things have a habit of changing and just lately the world has changed quite drastically - I suppose that is down to the pandemic and it is forcing us to adjust and make changes to our lives and that involves a lot of walking. Still, I digress.

Either way I was on this path, behind me was the gate and the view over the reservoir, along with the gatehouse, but something then caught my eye, a beautiful rhododendron flower, bright pink against a lush background, so I had to stop and take a photograph of it, so simple it was a little pink flower and setting my camera to F 0.95 I captured this stunning pink flower of the rhododendron, the background blurred out and I was amazed at just how atmospheric it was.

Pretty in the pink.

I then continued walking, the sound of an orchestra playing although instead of violins and other orchestral instruments; this orchestra was one of bird songs along with the distant sound of the breeze and the rustling of the trees.

“Sometimes music does not need instruments, sometimes the best music is the one that nature makes - slow down and pause for a moment when walking through woodlands or a forest, by the coast or within an area that is beautiful and listen to the sounds of nature making music, it really is something else, best of all it is free.”

Then in front of me a puddle on the floor, now I have a thing for water on the floor as it can be used as a mirror, if you want to challenge yourself with photography make sure to use a puddle to capture the reflections of the surroundings, I placed my camera close to the puddle and got the following photograph.

Reflections of the woods.

After capturing the glorious reflection of the lush green woodlands in the puddle, I continued to walk, forking off the path that I had been on, and now I was on a path with a gentle incline, it was on this path that things began to change, I paused for a brief moment and looked on at the woodland in front of me, a wooden fence on the left hand side of me meant for an interesting leading line and the trees along with the light felt serene, dreamlike and ethereal, for I was in the moment.

A summer path.

Of course though the reservoir was still on the left of me, and I could just see it in the distance. Creaks of the branches in the breeze, the orchestra of the birdsong accompanying me as I walked deeper into the woods, the sunshine seeping through the trees and things felt radiant. Magical almost and it probably was. Oh how the warmth changes the world and changes people’s minds, gone is the worry of listening to the doom mongering scientists (academics) and their views on what life is more than likely going to be, but here I was creating my own little piece of Utopia within the woodlands next to the shimmering water of Moorgreen reservoir. The sun just shining through the trees making a glorious effect with the light as it shone on the trees was purely magical.

Still this Utopia that I had created started to become even more stunning as I progressed, a little further on the path and to the right of me, is when I set eyes on the most magical of sights, here the woodland changed and the trees became more twisted, abstract like and surreal.

“If you are after an art gallery, then the woodlands provide an art gallery, best of all anyone can enjoy them. Shapes change all the time within woodlands and each one is unique, forests, woodlands etc. Have a certain charm to them that just invites people to explore them. Instead of looking at what is in front of you, look all around you and you will surely come across the most delightful pieces of artwork on the planet, for I as a photographer remain amazed by the artwork in woodlands and the trees are more like a painting that is constantly being worked on.”

I stopped and glanced to the right, the trees looked like sculptures, slightly surreal is what they were - but non the less, incredibly photogenic. Here I was in a woodland that was not affected by industry but one in which nature rules the roost and changes things naturally thus shaping the trees to how they look today. Yet the light against the trees was something so serene that I had to take the following photograph,

Sunshine woodland arts.

Sun-drenched trees do have a certain quality to them and they are just magical, somehow the light shining on the trees adds a certain amount of beauty to an already twisted sculpted scene. I then continued to walk, but again I had to stop, the pathway I was walking along just looked glorious with the trees on each side.

The trodden path.

A little further past the path, the avenue of trees and I had entered another section of the living art gallery, the trees all naturally shaped, with interesting intertwining sections to them, tall and small these were eclectically formed and the growth stages of the trees made for interesting shapes, pausing yet again I had to capture the beauty of them.

The natural museum.

When sculpture lives.

Yet here in this woodland I was aware that the water was getting ever so slightly closer, I carried on walking along the path, the woods at this stage encroaching on the reservoir and I could see the shimmer of the sun on Moorgreen reservoir, it was purely magical almost like being on another planet and still the orchestral sounds of the wildlife rang out around me. Aware of the reservoir on the left hand side of me, I found myself in a location of contrasts, and contemplation, here I paused and looked in awe at the view through the trees towards the shimmer of the reservoir, enigmatic and full of energy, unspoiled it was at this stage but that would soon change.

A waterside proximity.

Down to the shore - (Landscape).

Down to the shore - (Portrait).

I continued to walk and arrived at a location, taking a path to the left of me I had arrived at a location in which a playground had been developed, simple it was with a rope swing over the river, for I had visited here many years ago, but change had happened, where as I used to walk along the river towards Felly Mill, on a path by the river - well that path was no more, erosion/destruction had made that section of the path disappear, but previously unspoiled it was full of litter left over from those who use this location as a natural adventure playground.

“What has happened to society? It has broken and respect gone, is it really that difficult to take your rubbish home with you instead of leaving it in this river or on the banks of this river. Perhaps in the future you should take it home instead of spoiling it.”

Now though I walked away, with thoughts from yesteryear in the back of my mind and of the happy times that I had spent in this location when I was younger, again things change and with the detritus left over at a spot that years ago was a little oasis - sometimes those changes are not for the best. Still, it was time to backtrack along the path that I had walked on, that had brought me to this former oasis, now spoiled by litter.

Ahead of me on the path that I was now backtracking on was another tree, this time providing an arch over the path, naturally forming the arch was and it looked truly beautiful, for this was something else, and it looked like a scene from lord of the rings, the lush dense woodlands and the natural growth of the trees, I paused for a moment and took the following photos.

Woodland Portal - (Landscape).

Woodland Portal - (Black and White/Landscape).

Woodland Portal - (Black and White/Portrait).

Woodland Portal - (Portrait).

Amazing really how trees can be so thought provoking, this growth and the formation of the archway had happened over a number of years and I had not noticed it before, maybe when I was younger I never really paused to think about things or maybe I did not remember it, either way the path beckoned and it was back to the starting point of the walk. But upon the return to the starting point of the walk, the magic still happened.

I walked past the old lodge house that marks the entrance point to these woodlands and the glorious walk that I had, for now the sun was slowly beginning to set but the light was something else, I turned around and took the following photographs of this magical and mysterious old lodge house that, I am sure has plenty of stories to tell.

A woodland life - (Landscape).

A woodland life - (Portrait).

By now a magical light, and across the road, another property, the tall trees blocking out the sun, but somehow the skies seemed so calm and I had to capture the moment. But again the back of my mind was questioning things. Why had I never paused for a moment to take notice of this old house and it’s stunning architecture? I had no idea.

Life in serenity.

Stories to be told.

What stories did that house have to say about the serenity of the location it was in? The architecture was a statement and the beautiful brickwork was something else. But now I walked a little further on to a location on the pavement. In front of me now was Moorgreen reservoir and the skies clear, calm it was and I was here looking at a giant landscape painting in front of me, the trees of the woodland meeting the reservoir in front of me made for one of the most serene scenes that I had ever captured.

Evening calm of Moorgreen.

The reflections of the trees on the water along with the sky and the evening calm, for this was the most magical of ends to any walk that I had been on in a long, long time, but here I was looking at this glorious hidden body of water amongst the landscape, but it really does go without saying that sometimes a walk through the woods and a reservoir is all you need.

Finding art, sanctuary and shapes within woodlands: A journey through Blidworth Woods.

Sometimes a walk in the woods is the perfect antidote to the modern world and the seamless oddities that we have been faced with both during the pandemic and of course as restrictions have been eased. Still though, it was just last week that I re-visited some woodlands that before Easter of this year (2021) I had visited and yes, an oddity did happen; it snowed! Still though this time the weather was a lot nicer, warmer and the worry of snow falling was not on my mind at all, instead I was focused on having a nice walk and capturing some trees. I say trees, but Blidworth Woods is something of a dense wood that you could easily describe as being,

“A small forest in disguise, one that has secrets throughout it and gems just waiting to be discovered at every turn.”

Ironically though the website for Blidworth Woods does say the following “Forestry England” so maybe it is a forest, maybe it is not - either way though I digress. As it would seem that Blidworth Woods is something of an intricate maze with secrets at every turn which like many woodlands and forested areas provide a plethora of interesting compositions at every turn - even when you are least expecting a composition to arise. I had arrived in the car park of Blidworth Woods, sheltered by a canopy of trees, exposed areas also exist at this point and usually a burger wagon is parked up here, providing much needed refreshments; however it was not there this time around - (but I can highly recommend one of the tempting burgers that they do and a hot chocolate).

Ahead of the car park is a path, a long straight path that is akin to a tree, with various other smaller footpaths leading off it, tempting you to explore the different areas within the woods, within this mystical setting and walking on some of those footpaths will take you to various areas of Blidworth Woods, which are just waiting to be explored. This time though I walked this long path that was ahead of me, gently sloping upwards, for it is not steep, just a gentle and easy incline to walk up with mystical woodland scenes just waiting to be photographed.

A woodland symphony. 

A passage to middle earth.

A fallen tree leads on.

Delights everywhere for the long path from the car park, is one that most people avoid as they opt to explore the other parts of Blidworth Woods, but here I was walking up what seemed to be a never ending path of photogenic discoveries.

Eventually I thought I had reached the top of this gentle sloping incline and walking for a short distance it felt like I had, somehow with the path and the trees on either side a slice of paradise was found, the sheer size of those trees along with the textures and the colours was a sight that was beautiful, for this was nature providing just a little bit of artwork and that in it’s own rights is something amazing.

“Amazing isn’t it what nature can do? How often we ignore it, yet it really is the greatest example of art that we do not appreciate when really we should do. We should appreciate trees and woodlands, the shapes, the sizes of the trees and the amazing symphony the offer to us - best of all it is all free.”

Exploration of woodlands.

Looking back or looking forwards.

Woodland maze.

A track through a mystery.

The avenue of height.

Then after I had captured those photographs from the top of the main spinal path leading from the car park of Blidworth Woods, another discovery happened - “what goes up must come down” and sure enough the path that I was walking on slowly and gently began to go back down, another gentle incline and one that ended up in what appeared to be a small but perfectly formed hidden valley, a small one; but one which I had previously walked through on a crisscross path before Easter when it had snowed, by now I knew where I was, but the path I was on went straight on, and I just had to keep walking this part of the un-explored pathway through the woods.

Now in front of me a gentle incline, another one this time shorter and I keep walking up, more photogenic discoveries can be seen and they tempt me with the following photograph looking into the woods.

Define art?

Looking ahead in the woods.

The growth of trees.

Is this Endor?

For now which way?

A short while later and I reach the top of this short but delightful incline and now is another question, right or left? In the end, left it is and this time the greens look lush -- gone are the tall pines and other forest like trees, for this is woodland with interesting shapes and textures around that exist like a musical piece of theatre all in harmony with each other, all with different chords, keys that provide a symphonic piece of music within the mind.

Carrying on walking through these shades of green, the shapes changed, the trees changed and down another incline I walked down; this time it was slightly steeper but non the less the shapes began to change, for this was artwork and sanctuary right before my eyes a tree that was shaped like one of those Japanese fans, used to cool yourself down appeared to the right of me and I just had to capture it.

The shapes of simplicity.

A woodland pattern.

But that was not all, the delights where not over yet, the sun was just on the cusp of setting and the woodlands felt alive, for people who had been working where also enjoying the delights of the forest air, exploring it, walking, running, cycling in this area of magical surroundings that was something like a forest moon from a certain science fiction franchise - Endor, anyone?

Now I was on the approach back to where I had started from, a completely different route that I had walked this time, compared to when I was at Blidworth Woods, in April; just before Easter. But did it matter that I was walking on new grounds? No it did not as there was one final surprise and that was the light which just seeped through the trees, the rays of sun made for a final artistic display amongst these living pieces of art.

A woodland landing.

Avenue of light.

The orange glow.

Orbs of the woodlands

Amazing really that artwork is often thought as being a painting by one of the great classics, it really is not - art can be anything and it exists all around us at any given time, how it is perceived well that is up to the human mind creating a utopia, and for me a walk through the woods was utopia, seeing the nature and natural world providing me and others with this glorious artwork that is free, best of all without this natural art of trees then society would not exist, remember Trees do give us oxygen and contribute to human life as we know it, but the saddest thing is that we end up chopping them down for pointless political transportation projects that will have zero contributions to us as we know it…. HS2, yes excellent at destroying these beautiful pieces of natural art that we often forget - but perhaps now is the time we start caring about the world around us instead of trying to destroy it - perhaps if we did that the world would and could become a better place.

Yet somehow on this walk I found art, sanctuary and shapes within this small but perfectly formed woodland, often we ignore what is around us when walking, but if we slowed down and appreciated what was around us, we would eventually realize that as a society so much can be had for free, without the needs to spend and it is those simple things like a walk through the woodlands which is better than anything that can be purchased within this age of capitalism. Now is the time as we exit from the cycle of lockdown and the pandemic to really take a look at life and make our own little piece of utopia. For I have found mine and that is one of the best feelings ever, the simple things in life which are free and never taking life for granted.

Sometimes "simplicity" is all you need.

Autumn is officially here and as a landscape photographer it is perhaps one of the most beautiful seasons within the photography calendar. The world somehow becomes an easel and the various colours on the trees along with those of the landscape really make for something which is unique. But it is also a season in which,

“Simplicity is the key. Keep it simple and you will end up getting the very best photographic results”.

The key point is that autumn itself lends itself to being a season that is “minimal” with not a lot going on - nature itself is beginning to gradually enter a deep and well earnt sleep, but before it goes to sleep it leaves us with one final finale. Just getting out and about and soaking up this final finale is something that as a landscape photographer I would highly recommend.

Fortunately a couple of weeks ago (when it was October), I was driving back, having been somewhere, when I just had to stop in a particular layby in which there is perhaps one of the most stunning views over Nottinghamshire, naturally though I just had to pull into this layby and take the following two shots.

Simplicity through colour (landscape).

Simplicity through colour (portrait).

And to me, these just sum everything up about autumn, this transitional period of time, before we enter the winter time, Even if autumn is merely a transitional period and remains a rather short season, it is by far the most stunning time of year in which to partake in minimal photography with some radiant and glorious scenes, for this is nature's way of giving us her final finale before she sleeps until she wakes again in Spring, but this is also perhaps the most glorious and stunning finales that anyone will ever see and best of all this rather theatrical season just so happens to be free for all to enjoy, for sometimes simplicity is all you need in the world of photography.