Day twenty six of my photography challenge – Chasing light on Westleton Heath

I decided to head to Westleton Heath for my challenge images today. The forecast was for rain but the morning was a lovely mix of sunshine and heavy clouds which I felt really suited the heathland environment.

I have visited Westleton Heath many times and have some favourite areas where the silver birch trees are surrounded by sweeping areas of grass and clumps of heather. This habitat is great for textures and today these were enhanced by the lovely light.

The bands of grass were particularly eye catching and set off the white trunks of the birch trees really nicely.

For all my images today I used my 70-200mm lens so that I could focus in on some of the smaller details that I particularly like in this environment.

My photographs today were very much about chasing the light. It was quite windy and the clouds are scudding across the sky. It was fascinating to watch the light move across the landscape and with a bit of patience I was able to capture it in exactly the location I wanted.

There is always a wealth of tiny details to capture in this type of environment and although there was not much variety in colour this piece of dead bracken really stood out amongst the darker heather. 

I also spent some time focusing on last years heather flowers which contrasted nicely with the moss which was abundant on the heath. 

There are lots of gorse bushes on the heath and these were all looking really stunning with their bright yellow flowers catching the sunlight.

From the heath I headed into the woods and walked towards Sandy Lane farm where the Dunwich River once flowed. This area is now a boggy section of forest with a board walk running through it.

The woods are part of Dunwich Forest and are predominantly pine plantations with some silver birch and oak mixed in. There were some lovely clearings and some interesting compositions available when the sun shone. 

The fens are a bit of a challenge to photograph as they are a jumble of vegetation with fallen branches and tress growing everywhere. For all of its challenges it is a beautiful area which is light and airy and full of bird song.

Everywhere I looked there were green shoots sprouting from the boggy soil. I think these are probably yellow flag irises which will look lovely in May when they are all in flower. 

This was my favourite section of the fen, a small glade of silver birch trees all with subtly different coloured trunks. I loved the pastel colours and the delicate feel of the woodland. 

The boardwalk runs for quite a distance and is not traditionally attractive so I felt it worked better as a black and white composition.

I took this image because I loved the combination of colours; the white trunks, the green moss and the neutral colour of the dead reeds.

From the fens I headed back to the pine forest and was amazed at how much I noticed just by walking in the opposite direction. There was some lovely light in the woods and that is what attracted me to the next two images. 

Nearing the heath again I passed an area of cleared woodland which is now covered in silver birch saplings. These seem to have a purple tint to them and I though the combination of colours made a nice image.

Back on the heath the light was lovely and this was my last image before heading home.