The Language of Trees

Instead of bagging ‘trophies’ on an endless rush to iconic locations, I’ve instead chosen to hone my vision by revisiting a few locations over and over again. The view is that, over time, I develop my photographic eye and see things that perhaps I would have walked past time after time.

Thus, I’ve spent the last 10 years primarily photographing just one place. Ashridge Forest, on the border of Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire, was my choice. I can’t claim to have a specific reason for choosing Ashridge. However, when I was living in North West London, I sought refuge and solitude away from the city after an incredibly difficult period in my life after the loss of my first wife to cancer when I was 25.

I remember looking at Google Maps, and looking at a small selection of photos from a number of areas, and visited a few of these.

The first time I visited Ashridge was in spring.

For those of you who know Ashridge Forest, you’ll know it’s famous for its vast bluebell displays. The whole forest comes alive with the majority of the forest floor covered in a blue carpet overlooked by a smorgasbord of tree species, including Beech, Oak, Ash, Elm and Silver Birch. I was immediately inspired and returned several times over a period of weeks.

Regeneration, Ashridge Forest, Hertfordshire

Building A Relationship

However, rather than rushing for my camera, I chose instead to soak up the forest and get to know the place. This process started by walking the boundary trail that takes you around the whole estate.

Then I started walking all of the side trails in each of the different commons, one at a time.

I spent some days sat under a tree reading, or writing. I felt that if I wanted to create meaningful images, I needed to build a connection with the forest. To make successful images, I needed to understand its mood, the way it evolves. I needed to learn its language. The first photographs I made of Ashridge came in 2009, but none really captured the essence. It wasn’t until 2010 that I made a photograph that truly captured the essence of the place, and what it really felt like to be there.

The Archway, Ashridge Forest, Hertfordshire

Working In Projects

To keep me returning to the same location over and over, I like to structure my photographic work into projects. And the project I set myself early on in my days of visiting Ashridge was unlikely to be completed in a short amount of time – I wanted to make twelve photographs that told a story of Ashridge, with each image made in a different month of the year.

Like many photographers, it is hard to stay motivated during the summer. The days are long, the light is harsh and there isn’t much colour once the spring flowers have died off. But by forcing myself to work hard to find images in the summer months, it kept me going.

The result is my Ashridge: Through The Seasons portfolio.

Exploring A New Location

Since moving house nearly 2 years ago, it’s become harder to get to Ashridge Forest frequently. It’s now 50 minutes away on a good run (without traffic), when it used to be a short 15-minute drive. I do still plan to visit, as I love the place, but it will be less frequent than it has been. Also, with my Through The Seasons project reaching a conclusion, I am in search of some new areas to explore.

I recently started visiting Broxbourne Woods, a large area of woodland managed by Hertfordshire County Council and the Woodland Trust. It includes Wormley Wood, Nut Wood, Thunderfield Grove, Broad Riding Wood, and Bencroft Wood.

The first time I visited, I took my large format gear with me, thinking that making images in a new location would be easy. But I’d forgotten the process I went through when I started visiting Ashridge.

So within an hour of walking around the Wormley Wood area of Broxbourne Woods with my gear, I returned to the car, dropped my bag off and then headed back into the forest with only my compact camera.

Since then I’ve been back four times – each time with just a compact camera – to start getting to know what makes the forest tick. I’m in no rush, but I’m hoping that by the end of winter, I am in a position to start making photographs come springtime. But if that’s not looking likely, I will probably pass on photographing it during the summer and start lugging the large format gear out into the forest come autumn this year.