Rising Dawn

Richard Puncheon Landscape Photographer Based In The Chiltern Hills AOANB.

As a landscape photographer I am always checking the weather, many apps are stored on the phone and are studied with great intent, when I have spare time to get out and shoot.

I was planning to go down to my local spot where me and my black Labrador Oakley walk in all weathers and seasons.

Sitting just on the edge of Leighton Buzzard is the Ouse valley meadow, a beautiful large wild meadow which is sandwiched between the grand union canal and the river Ouzel deep in the Bedfordshire countryside.

This particular section has the Greensand Ridge Footpath running alongside which is part of a 40 mile trail, which runs from Leighton Buzzard out to Gamlingay just north of Sandy on the Bedfordshire/ Cambridgeshire Boarder.

It was early spring, one of my favourite times of year to be out, the season is changing, the wildlife is moving and the foliage is starting to push through, so I was excited at the prospect of some good conditions.

The alarm went off, coffee was made and we were soon pulling into the little lane where I park the car, this is also the first time you can see down into the valley and I was pleased to see the mist was present as predicted. Perfect!

Sunshine was forecast and it was a beautiful crisp fresh morning. As I made my way down into the valley I saw that I wasn’t alone as another photographer was up higher on the hill so a wave and a nod of appreciation for the conditions was exchanged.

Ouzel valley oaks

I stopped to get a few shots of the oak trees in the valley, skeletal figures in the mist with the cool blue tones of pre dawn as I made my way down to the bridge that crosses the river Ouzel.

First Light

This was my intended composition, the winding lead in line of the river taking the eye out into the valley which was looking spectacular with the swirling mist, that was very thick at this stage.

Odd One Out

I have shot the scene on a few occasions over a couple of years but then it was dredged out which  took a year or so to recover, which was a shame as I definitely think it looked better before with its sweeping s bends.

The sun was now casting its golden light into the valley, the mist dancing and swirling off the river which you could hear a trickle from, it was stunning, so I framed up the same oak trees from earlier using the river as the lead in line and the backlight onto the scene just made it come alive. I excluded the sky as the shadow area behind the oak trees was enhancing the trees and giving them exceptional detail.

Morning Glow

At some points the ebb and flow of the mist was too thick so I waited patiently taking shots until the light I really wanted on the foreground appeared as the sun got higher, this for me completed the balance to the scene and I much preferred the shots with the light on the foreground from the session.

Rising Dawn

Before I knew it the light was too harsh and that was that. the photographer I see earlier on in the morning came down to cross the bridge and we had a good chat about the morning and it turned out we had been speaking over our local photography groups for some time but have never met, so it was nice to meet you Craig!

I was very pleased with the final image, one that is in my portfolio and was my best of 2021.

Limited Edition PRINTS available.

Richard