My Favourite Landscape Photos from 2021
It has become customary on my blog for me to share a retrospective post, talking about the previous year I’ve had and sharing stories and some of my favourite photos I took along the way. Deciding not to write a full retrospective this time around but also not wanting to break the tradition of reviewing and sharing my photos from the previous year, I’ve decided to keep this post a little lighter and focus only on the photos. So, here are 10 of my favourite landscape photos I took during 2021.
Photographing the woodland through the seasons
2021 was my first full year of woodland photography and I’ve absolutely fallen for this sub-genre of landscape photography. These days, you will often find me wandering my local woodlands for hours on end as I try to make sense of the natural chaos the trees provide. Woodland photography is hands down one of the most frustrating and equally rewarding subjects to photograph and I’m really enjoying the challenge it provides.
To better tell the story of the year I had photographing woodland, I decided to pick a photo I took from all four seasons.
First up is this photo I took in a hilltop woodland on the Surrey/Kent border. Taken during a rare hoar frost in January, I had the most amazing, albeit cold morning looking for frosty compositions and this winding pathway flanked by silver birch was the perfect setting to create this beautiful wintry woodland scene.
Winter Woodland Triptych
I absolutely love a triptych. Putting three photos together can work incredibly well to tell a more cohesive story and with such a successful morning of photography and having bagged three wintry woodland photos in similar conditions, they had a similar look to them. I feel they are even stronger when presented as a single piece. Hopefully, you feel the same. Click on the photos below to see a bigger version.
It seemed to take forever for spring to finally get out of first gear in 2021. Whereas I would have normally expected to see this beautiful carpet of bluebells by mid-April, after a further 2 scouting trips, I had to wait another month before they were ready here in this beech woodland down in West Sussex. Although at the time I didn’t think much of the white daisies that accompany the bluebells on the ground, I now think they work well alongside the green and purple colours, adding some further interest to this springtime woodland scene.
The photo below is possibly my favourite taken in the woodland during 2021. Surrounded by these lush green leaves and glorious morning mist, I was in my element as I wandered through the trees on this early summer’s day. After spotting this composition, I perched my camera midway up the bank and used my wide-angle lens so I could include those fantastic trees on the left as they leaned into the frame creating this natural archway, framing the misty forest scene in the background. The finishing touch were those purple rhododendrons down in the bottom right-hand corner of the image. As controversial as they are, I think they add some interest and balance to the overall composition.
Last up in this woodland collection is what some might call nature’s greatest annual show. Like in the spring, when I was waiting for the bluebells to appear, the best colours of autumn is all about timing, so, once again, it took multiple scouting trips and a fair bit of patience before I managed to photograph this scene below. In fact, the colours appeared so late, I had to wait until the last week of November before they were at their best.
It was the plethora of colours in this image that initially caught my eye, so with the forest doing its job, my job was to make sense of the chaos and do it justice by taking an interesting photo out of it. I ended up using the green pine tree on the far left to add visual weight, balancing the composition against the strong lines of the Beech tree as it leaned towards the right-hand side of the frame.
Autumnal Woodland Triptych
I lapped up the conditions as I explored these autumnal woodlands and like during the hoar frost back in January, I was able to take several different photos which look great on their own, but in my opinion, they look even stronger presented together as a triptych. One day I might even write a post about why I like them so much. Click on the photos below to see a bigger version.
Landscapes photos taken in the Southeast of England
Surrey, Sussex and Kent have some great landscapes to photograph. Granted, they lack the drama of the Jurassic Coast or the mountainous Lake District, but we still have some beautiful, albeit subtle places to take landscape photos here in the Southeast of England. Below are 3 of my favourite landscape photos I took in 2021.
Starting with this stunning view across the South Downs in East Sussex, this photo is all about how the light hits the rolling hills, emphasising the contours in the landscape and creating a natural zigzagging line leading into the distance. Although it was late April, I distinctly remember how cold it was as I stood there waiting for the right moment to take the photo. As the sun rose above the horizon, it soon became clear that timing was going to be everything. I had to wait long enough for the light to hit the right places down in the valley, but not too long so that there was too much light as those all-important shadows and contours would be gone.
You really don’t have to travel far to take landscape photos and the photo I took below is proof of that. As I drove home from a rather unsuccessful woodland shoot back in May, I remember spotting these moody clouds in the sky as I was passing by this bright yellow rapeseed field not far from where I live. Anticipating something special, I stopped the car, grabbed my camera and headed straight to this spot which provides a good view of this lone tree in the middle of the field. As the cloud rolled in with a band of rain behind, and not being dressed for the occasion, I worked fast to get the image before racing back to the car just in time for the heavy downpour.
A popular subject and certainly one of my favourite places to visit with my camera, pictured below is Bodiam Castle in East Sussex. Not coming across any mist or fog on my drive down, I was surprised to see the entire place engulfed as I arrived on location and after waiting a short while for the fog to thin out a little, I managed to take this photo of the beautiful castle below.
I don’t usually like the photos I take when the camera is pointing directly towards the sun but with plenty of mist still hanging around, the brighter, harsh light from the sun was defused just enough for me to take this photo while still retaining plenty of detail in the castle.
The London Cityscape
For obvious reasons, I didn’t make as many trips into London as usual during 2021 and with so much uncertainty that still surrounds us, I’m not expecting that to change too much in 2022. We will have to wait and see. I did however manage to take a few trips into the city in between work from home orders and I’ve shared below three of my favourite London cityscape photos I took in 2021.
First up is this photo looking down Lombard Street in the city. London was still relatively quiet compared to normal and as I wandered down this empty street, I spotted this small puddle by the side of the road. I’ve taken a photo of this view many times before and although I really like the fantastic lead-in lines at the bottom, the traditional buildings that flank the street, and the more contemporary Fenchurch Building at the top of the frame, I always felt it was lacking a little something. Thankfully, this time around, the rain shower brought the finishing touch and I took full advantage by crouching down and using this fantastic reflection of the Fenchurch Building in this conveniently placed puddle as foreground interest.
Next up in this small collection of London photos is this one taken at sunset from St Katherine Docks in June. Normally a busy, somewhat cluttered view of Tower Bridge and The Shard, I decided to use my neutral density filter to cut the light down even further and create a long exposure photo. Removing the ripples and creating this smooth, almost glass-like effect on the water helped simplify the scene, allowing the iconic architecture and their reflections in the river to stand out.
Last up, is this impressive view looking east across London taken from The Shard’s viewing platform. I’d previously tried a few times to take this photograph but for one reason or another, I was never able to take a photo I was truly happy with. Until now that is.
Taken deep into the blue hour, just before nightfall, timing was once again so important when creating this image. I wanted to wait long enough for the city lights to be a feature in the image but not too late so that it was too dark to pick out any details in the landscape. With the camera precariously rested on my camera bag (no tripods allowed), I took the shot you see below. Thankfully, it all came together on this September evening in London.
That’s it! 10 of my favourite landscape photos taken in 2021. There’s plenty more to come in 2022 and I can’t wait to share it with you.
Until next time.
Trevor