This week’s photography trip was a short excursion to Mogshade Pond, as I continue my adventure into learning outdoor and landscape photography.
It is a popular photography location and has been well-visited by photographers over the years. As a result, I thought I should add it to my list of visited places in the New Forest.
How to get to Mogshade Pond
Bratley View Car Park is the best place to park for Mogshade Pond and is well known as a photography spot in its own right.
Once parked, you can cross the road and follow the paths directly to the pond.
Mogshade Pond Photography Video
Here is my On Location video of my photography visit to Mogshade Pond.
The Conditions
I was not sure what the conditions would be like. After a half-decent summer, and with it not being September, the morning was a little fresh, but invigorating.
Once I arrived at the pond, and was a little surprised at how small it was. I would imagine this would grow over the winter months with our famous rainfall. As a result, I made a note to be sure to revisit it later in the year.
Because of the gentle breeze in the air, the ripples on the water were sure to affect the smooth, mirror finish I was hoping to get.
But before you carry on reading………..
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The Photos
I took the obvious viewpoint of facing the sun, with the trees being backlit by the imminent sunrise.
Another photographer was wandering around and suggested I try to shoot from a bit further around the pond, to the left. This meant the trees were slightly off to the left, and this was the resulting image.
I was almost ready to move on, but as I walked back towards my original location, I spotted a composition that I wanted to try.
It was a lone tree, the one at the end of the image above. I was hoping to get a square crop, of just the single tree, with a nice reflection.
However, its proximity to the tree next to it, and the ripples on Mogshade Pond, meant the image had a couple of compromises.
I shot it anyway, but think with a bit more time, and the right conditions, I should be able to improve this image.
Finally, before I left Mogshade Pond, to continue my daily dose of photography, I wanted to try one more shot.
The sun was just peeking over the horizon, and I was hoping to get a starburst coming through the trees. I set my aperture at f22 to try and achieve this result. Because of this, the shutter speed was 6 seconds.
Here is the result. Not bad, but the starburst isn’t as sharp as I would like.
I did take a few other photos as I wandered around the nearby forest area, but nothing particularly special, as you can see from the below.
Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to check out my YouTube channel, where I post videos of this Mogshade Pond photography outing, plus other trips on location.
See you next time!
