Mindful in the Woods
There is something beguiling about trees and woodlands. And like many people, I particularly enjoy these as photographic subjects during the autumn and winter months. Shorn of leaves, there is a skeletal beauty to many trees. There is also something rather soothing about entering the silence of a wood, the quiet crunch of fallen leaves and the occasional crack of a branch or twig underfoot.
Braemore Junction, Torridon - November 2016
Many people who pursue mindfulness as part of their photographic practice find woodland an especially rewarding environment. Although I would not go so far as to describe myself as a ‘mindful photographer’ I do believe that landscape photography in particular is best achieved through adopting a mindful approach.
Woods are a good example of how this works for me. When I first enter a wood, all I tend to see is chaos - trees blocking trees, branches intruding on the edge of the frame, bright sky clashing with deep shadow and, most of all, no obvious ‘view’ to draw the eye. However, as I wander around and focus more closely on what is around me, underfoot and above my head, I invariably start to find the kinds of intimate landscapes that are just as intriguing as the tops of mountains or broad expanses of coast.
As I search for images, I think I am adopting a mindful approach to what I am doing. With my camera in hand I find myself concentrating more intently, listening with greater concentration and generally bringing all my senses to bear on the moment I am in. For a time, my mind clears of all its usual clamour and clutter, and for a moment I find the image I want to make. Sometimes, these can be quite wide scenes but more often it is the interplay of light and shade that I find most intriguing.
When the day is dreich and the skies are not delivering, I find that it is often time to head for the woods where you can happily exclude the sky altogether and where more muted light often brings out the patterns and colours of trees to optimum effect.
Cotswold Coppice, March 2023
During the recent periods of lockdown, when opportunities for travel have been few and far between, like many photographers I found many new places within walking distance of my home. Now that we are free to fly around the world once again, I am trying also to maintain my daily walks around the local fields and woods. In this era of trying to reduce our carbon footprints, I find that it is rather fun to pull on my wellies and head out of the back door into the countryside close by. Oxfordshire may lack the visual drama of coastal cliffs, empty moorland or soaring mountains - but it has woods and trees in abundance. And with a little thought and mindful concentration, I am finding that these are often just as satisfying as expanses of empty wilderness or tumbling seas. If you’ve never tried this approach, I would urge you to give it a go.
