Beautiful bluebells

Bluebell season is fleeting, so you need to be in the right place at the right time, ready with your Canon gear to get the best shots 

- Peter Travers

Spring is the time to shoot flowers in bloom, and a sea of bluebells in a forest are a real favourite of mine. It all comes down to a great location and soft sunlight when you’re photographing bluebells in woods. Plus some key Canon camera skills, of course!

It’s taken me a few years to find the best location in our local area. Although several woods near me have bluebells, it wasn’t until last year that I found this fantastic forest on top of a hill, with big blankets of bluebells filling large areas of the forest floor.

For the best, densely populated areas of bluebells, you ideally need forests with thinner trees and less foliage lower down their trunks. This enables sunlight to reach the flowers so they bloom and flourish in Spring. Bluebells in the UK usually flower around late March to mid May, but it varies depending how mild it is come Spring. But you need to be quick! As soon as the forest canopies start to grow new leaves, the bluebells won’t get enough sunlight, and quickly disappear.

It’s best to find a forest that has defined edges, so the sun reaches inside to light the flowers, and also so that you’re not shooting inside a dark wood, and get a nicer, more photogenic and atmospheric scene.

You’ll also need to nail your Canon camera skills, using the right aperture and focal length, bracketing your exposures, and get your composition right for the best shots, as I show you over the following pages...

CANON SETUP SHOOT BLUEBELL FOREST SCENES
Learn the crucial Canon camera settings and lens tips for stunning flowery forest shots

SHOOT INTO THE SUNLIGHT