Wistmans Wood 4

by Chris Page
 
Wistmans Woods is a fragment of Ancient Temperate Rainforest on the banks of the West Dart River, Dartmoor. It is a site of Special Scientific Interest and is a National Nature Reserve, being one of the highest Oakwoods in Britain at 1,350ft.
 
Festoons of dead mans beard hang from the these outlying trees which are sparsely spaced on the side of the rocky hill side.  As I work my way around the perimeter it becomes ever steeper and you begin to look down into the dark depths of the woods.  Granite boulders covered in moss create a natural inhospitable  barrier, it shouts “Do not Enter”.  The trees become closer and closer together with contorted limbs twisting and turning in every direction.  It’s a mad chaotic confusion which sends your vision whirling.  I stop, sit down on a large rock and try to refocus on single spot to find composition in the mayhem.  With the wind blowing, branches swaying, leaves flickering and the light coming and going in the frantic movement, it's time to rethink how I am going to photograph this!
 
I began to start photographing these mysterious Dwarf Oaks in this incurable setting, with its boulders, mosses, lichens and autumn colours.  From my elevated position I continued my clamber around the edge of the woods looking for compositions where I could lose the sky out of the shot and pick up the burnt colours of bracken from hillside on  the other side of the valley.  I had a vision of what I wanted to achieve and knew I would be lucky to get one or two images that got anywhere near to it. I finally arrived at the far end of the woods and then retraced my steps back to get the view point from the other direction.
 
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