The dark site of the Vijlenerbos

The 5^th of November I was anxious to be early in the Vijlenerbos. The weather forecast predicted some mist during early morning hours. Perfect for woodland photography. It could be a short photo walk, because the rest of this Saturday would be a sunny cloudless day.

At arrival there was some mist and the rising sun was creating those beautiful light shafts piercing trough the forest. I realised I had to act fast to capture those fleeting moments. I did not have enough time to get to a really suitable woodland scene to capture this beautiful light play. I did manage to shoot some images during those fleeting moments. I have included two photographs.

After a half hour all mist was disappeared and the harsh sunlight made it almost impossible to do some woodland photography.

I decide to go to a part of the forest where a lot of pines grow. During harsh light those big pines create still a lot of completely shaded places. I call this place the “dark site of the Vijlenerbos”. The rising sun could create an interesting light play in those places. Perhaps it was even possible to create some interesting back lit compositions while shooting into the sun.

I discovered a beautiful place in the middle of the dark site of the Vijlenerbos. There, I made my most favourite image of the photo walk. It is also the featured image in this post. I will revisit this place more often to improve on the composition.

Now, when I think back to that morning, I know that knowledge of this local forest can also make woodland photography possible during harsh light conditions.

I hope you like the enclosed photographs. Please leave some comments.

All content and photographs are (C) Copyright Ruud Maas. All Rights Reserved.