Wild garlic in local woodlands 2022

Spring has arrived in full force in my local woodlands. Every year I hope for some perfect conditions to photograph some woodland scenes with the abundance of wild garlic. No harsh light, mist and no wind would be perfect.

My favourite woodlands nearby (5 to 10 minutes drive from home) are the Savelsbos (the Netherlands) and Bois de la Julienne (Belgium). The Savelsbos and Bois de la Julienne are both a slope forest. There is a significant height difference between the higher and lower parts of the forest. On sunny cloudless days some parts are almost in complete shade during early sunrise and late sunset hours. In parts of both woodlands the wild garlic create a white carpet on the forest floor. The wild garlic gives a kind of fairytale look to the woodland. Perfect bloom of the wild garlic lasts for about 2 weeks in our region.

The fact that the two woodlands are close to home does also create the possibility to visit some woodland scenes more often. Hence the chance of taking photographs in more perfect conditions is higher. This year I decided to only take sunset photographs. So, photographing was also possible after working days. Here, in spring, sunset is completed around half past nine. That leaves enough time to do some woodland photography after work and dinner.

I did 2 photoshoots after work and 2 photoshoots in the weekend. For all these photoshoots I was confronted with a lot of sun, wind gusts and no clouds. All in all, no perfect conditions. Some of the scenes I decided to photograph were also not completely in shade. So, I had to wait until the direct sunlight was blocked by the surrounding hills and trees. Because of the sunset situation and the wind gusts the window for shooting in more favourable conditions was short.

For all the photographs taken I used my Fujifilm XT3 in combination with the 35mm F2 lens. This lens gives a natural normal view of the scenes photographed. To my believe this focal length (52mm full frame equiv) does give the viewer the opportunity to imagine themselves to be in the scene.

I did shoot some scenes with different F-stops (from 2.8 to 11). For the woodland photographs I prefer F5.6 or F8 (depth of field). F8 is the best optical setting for my Fujifilm 35mm F2 lens.

Now the bloom of the wild garlic is over its peak. Another take on photographing wild garlic will be next year.

I have included my favourite photographs. My most favourite one is the featured photograph on top of this post. The photograph taken is a scene in the Savelsbos. If you have any information request about the locations, taken photographs etc. please feel free to contact me. Comments are always be welcome.