I need to try cooking and eating wild carrots! 

In the meantime, I'll take lots of photos of the lovely umbels to keep me busy editing all winter long!

Directions to get to the beautiful blooms...

Wild Carrot Umbel.Nikon D750, 60mm Nikor lens. Cane End, Oxfordshire.

Walk as if you're going all the way through Kidmore End village (South Oxfordshire) and you'll pass a footpath entrance on the left, 'Cane End 1m' follow the path first to a beautiful patch of sunflowers (keep to the paths between the fields)...
Sunflower, Cane End.Loved the little curled in petals, like fingers.

....carry on past the sunflowers for a few hundred yards then dive left & down through a gap between two oak trees (big enough for a tractor, you can't miss it) then carry on up and keep left as if you're walking all the way along the side of a field, you'll pass a wide strip of wild flowers including these wonderful wild carrots!  

All the information and history you need to know about both of these spectacular plants can be found in these two links.

Wild Carrot Museum and National Sunflower Association

Wild Carrot Umbels.Also know as Queen Anns lace.

Delicate wild carrot and bold sunflowers.

Sunflower bud.Taken close up with a 60mm lens, wide f-stop to blur the background.

Wild Carrot seed heads and a Sunflower bud are quite different. Capturing a plant's unique features is part of the challenge of taking a successful shot.

Sunflower bud with a ladybird.Vignetted image to highlight the ladybird.

I've added a little vignette above to isolate the ladybird and lend a little softness to the composition. 

A portrait landscape!Wild carrot meadow.

The effect of using a really wide aperture (below) to isolate the subject and a nice blurred background.

Older and young wild carrot umbels.A little bit romantic!

Interesting the difference between photographing the fairly static sunflowers on a sturdy stem that isn't too tall (this was field of end of season short blooms). Compared to the constantly on the move wild carrot stems, you need a fast shutter speed to trap the movement!

Classic sunflower pose🌻

Sunflowers are bold, opaque and have a definite edge. Wild carrots are a little ethereal, there are as many different variations in the colours, size and shape of the seeds heads as there are stems that support them. Ideal for capturing beautifully muted backgrounds as well as the umbels (love that word!!).

   Wild carrot meadow with a bit of a retro edit.Made me think of festivals and crowds of people.

Close up or far away! Impossible to get ALL the seed heads in focus so you just have to take the photograph that you think represents the scene best and in your style.​​​​​​

Closer up wild carrots.What to focus on? So much movement and things going on.

Reminded me of crowds at a festival!

Hopefully we can get back to those next year.

Loads of textures, layers and layers of textures!

Wild carrot textures!Taken right into the umbel. This is one of my favourites.

I made several visits with three different lenses to see what different shots I could get. Really, the possibilities are endless. My iPhone worked really well too!!

Wild carrots and Sunflowers are extremely photogenic, you can't go wrong whatever photographic equipment you use.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog 😊 and keep enjoying your photography!

Ruth Xx

RPS_ARPS_CMYK

You might also like, Into the Woods! You might also like to buy my pack of 3 Countryside greeting cards.

Ruth is an Associate of the Royal Photographic Society has a Diploma in Professional Photography and is a multiple award winning member of the Guild of Photographers.
Countryside greeting cards.Sunflower, Wild carrot and field mushroom cards from my original photographs.

As with any walk in the countryside, follow designated paths and observe regulations when walking through farmland with animals.

We can all enjoy the beautiful Oxfordshire landscape safely and respectfully!