The Old Beech Tree

For many years now, at this time of the year, I have returned to view & photograph the spectacle of the bluebells flowering in Mugdock woods, near my home. This year, due to the unusually long & cold winter the bloom is later than in previous years.
(one of the benefits of digital images, is there ability to not only capture the image but also details such as date & time, which is a great reminder for future reference if you intend to try & re-visit or recapture a seasonal event. )

This year two things struck me on my return visit, the first , that the amount of bluebells was significantly down, whether as a consequence of the unusually cold & snowy winter, or my timing,  which was based on previous visits. I had scouted the location a week previous, but found that the scattering of blooms rather sparse, so I decided to leave it another week, which so happened to be an unseasonably warm spell!  Prompted by the mini heat wave I returned to the woods, where the bluebells where perfectly formed, but a little thin on the ground. The second think that I noticed was that an old beech tree, where I had had photographed on numerous occasions before had collapsed, I was surprised at my own reaction, when I found the site of the broken & torn tree.

Why should the loss of a tree in a wood of many trees cause such a reaction? I think it comes down to my memory of my first visit to this location in the wood, when I was engrossed in capturing the magnificent show of bluebells, I had began to have an eerie feeling I was being watched. Looking around no one else seemed to be in the vicinity, so I carried on shooting away. 
It was not until I had finished photographing the beech tree with it’s carpet of bluebells from every conceivable angle, that I stood up straight after peering into the viewfinder, & stepped back…… CRACK! …. I stepped onto a fallen branch, this was followed by a “TOO WIT TOO WOO!”   There, directly above me was an owl, spookily I had been correct, I had been under observation!

Bluebells under the old Beech Tree.

I'm sure many photographers will have similar stories to tell, & this is what what makes photography special, not only the visual aspect, but the stories behind them. The picture itself maybe rather unremarkable but, to the photographer the story associated to it can add another dimension.

......Alan
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