Tranquility

Artist: Paul Moon

An English woodland. Spring-time. Ethereal mist. Pure white wild garlic. Birdsong.

All the ingredients for a serene atmosphere and unbelievable tranquility!

This photograph, taken in a local woodland, was over 30 years in the making.

I've visited and photographed the woodland every year in spring since settling into a small village on its outskirts. My children have spent many hours playing here and now my grandchildren do the same.

The peak time to visit this woodland is spring - as flowering plants dominate the under-story. First to bloom are the clumps of pale yellow primroses. Followed by an explosion of colour from violets, wood anemone, celandines and bluebells. The grand finale is the spectacular wild garlic bloom. Its vibrant green leaves show early in spring but the flowers, when they eventually arrive, coat the woodland floor with a carpet of purest white. A cousin of the onion, they give off a pungent smell of garlic and taste hot and peppery!

In all the years of visiting I’d never witnessed a morning mist. Thankfully, on the day I took this, I was fortunate to have the perfect conditions. I made the most of it. I spent a couple of hours searching for the right framing, and these tall beech and ash trees were very familiar to me. They stand on a gentle slope covered in the pure white flowers and the view into them worked so well.

It was the perfect conditions and the perfect moment with all the elements aligned. Small fresh pale-green leaves hung from the beech trees and the wild garlic was at its peak. Ethereal mist softening the view. Song birds called throughout the branches heralding a new day. You could almost touch the tranquility!

About the artist: I live on the Yorkshire Wolds in the UK, near to where I grew up, and have spent nearly 20 years searching, discovering and photographing the wonderful views and subject matter - mostly in the deep dry dales - many of which have been designated as access land for walkers. They are mostly used for grazing livestock and for breeding game birds, and have been relatively undiscovered areas of stunning beauty. This is something I’ve set my heart on changing. I have had my images of the Yorkshire Wolds used by local tourism providers, by the Yorkshire Wolds Way National Trail, and recently to complement an upcoming survey by English Nature to designate the Wolds as an ‘Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’. This is a national designation in the United Kingdom, given to only a few deserving landscapes. I hope my photography in the Wolds will help to highlight this stunning area, and go towards securing my local landscape the AONB designation.