What to photograph in the woods

If you go down to the woods today there will be plenty of photographic opportunities!


Gear
As you'll be walking your standard zoom will be enough to get great pictures without doing a balancing act with lots of equipment. If you don't mind carrying a backpack on your walks pack a macro lens so you can get close to insects and capture interesting detail such as patterns in bark. A wide-angle will give you sweeping landscapes and a telephoto will get you close to woodland animals without startling them.

If you don't want to carry a DSLR and lenses on your leisurely walk slip a compact into your pocket instead. You may also want to take something to kneel on such as a ground sheet otherwise you'll end up with muddy knees as we found out!


Technique
Obviously there's going to be plenty of foliage for you to photograph. You can use your macro lens and a shallow depth of field to get in close to a flower, bud or even a blade of grass or use your wider lens to create a shot that puts your chosen subject into context. If you see a Squirrel or interesting bird get out your telephoto lens and sit quietly so you can snap away without them even knowing you're there. As woods are dark places you may need to use longer exposures so make sure your camera is well supported or you could try using flash but don't do this if you're photographing one of the many creatures who call the woods their home.

If you're up for a challenge set yourself some tasks: try only photographing patterns such as those on bark or how about photographing things which are green? If you want to turn it into a longer project return once a week or month to capture the ever changing seasons.


You've read the article, now go take some fantastic images. You can then upload the pictures, plus any advice and suggestions you have into the dedicated Photo Month forum for everyone at ePHOTOzine to enjoy.