England – or Middle-earth? Photographer Richard Searle captures magical ancient woodlands

Named ‘Portal’ this mystical shot was captured on Dartmoor’s Wistman’s Wood. Searle describes the shot as “Wistman’s Wood”: “Wistman’s Wood has a magic place, but there is a little mist and gloom that adds to its atmosphere.”

LEFT: Contact is the name of this stunning picture taken by a deer from Surrey woods. Searle believes that the young deer was able to remain still for at minimum 30 seconds which allowed him to be in a great position to take this photo. I couldn’t believe my luck.’ RIGHT: Set in the Surrey Hills AONB, this ethereal picture was captured on a ‘bitterly cold morning in March’. Searle says: ‘The best times for woodland photography are at the very beginning or end of the day, when the light is soft and diffused. The atmosphere of a woodland can be made more beautiful by blue hour. [that is]Even the smallest amount of early morning sunlight can make a beautiful scene.

Searle captured ‘Twister,’ which is located in Surrey. According to Searle, the photograph is a “lovely scene with symmetrically leaning and twisted oaks”. The photographer notes: ‘The greatest challenge with woodland photography is making sense of what is usually a very chaotic environment. Fog is a great tool for separating subjects from distant details and blurring them, but it can also make an image or ruin it.

This striking photo of a tree in Surrey Hills is called ‘Arc. According to the photographer, he was in ‘perfect circumstances’ at the time he shot this image on a winter morning. 

Searle recalls this stunning scene from Surrey: “The light breaking through the tree canopy, which was framed by two oaks in the distance, caught my attention.” Speaking generally about his portfolio of landscape photography, he adds: ‘These photographs are about relationships between shapes, colour, texture and contrast and everything that is in the frame needs to be considered’

Dartmoor provided the backdrop for Searle’s stunning image, titled ‘Relict’. Searle says the image shows summer sunlight breaking through the thick canopy and the soft glow from the moss. He also describes the Rowan tree in the photo, “clinging to oak trunks. The photographer adds: ‘It’s a shame that the Rowan wasn’t resplendent with berries – just a few in the top right corner – but [it’s]It’s not surprising considering the amount of light that passes through.

Searle noted that these two magnificent trees, which were taken in Surrey by Searle, are soaked in soft morning sunlight with a hint of mist in their surroundings.

Searle’s favorite photograph is ‘Congregation’. If you look up, it will be visible. Searle says that his favourite photograph changes often. I think it’s only natural to cast a critical eye over your previous work and I often look back on things and see what could have been done better. It’s often a more recent image that is my current favourite, as is the case now.’ Searle explains the history behind this photograph. It was shot in Surrey.

Searle used the “beautiful and foggy conditions” of Surrey Hills AONB to capture this image, entitled ‘Sprawl”. Then he says, “I was drawn by the way that the light caught the moss, creating a luminous glow.”

The atmospheric shot is called “Evergreen” and was taken in Surrey. Searle muses: ‘There’s something captivating about the ever-modulating nature of woodland. Seasons change, or you can simply [go]Different weather conditions reveal different relationships among the trees. You can visit the same place over and over and it’s never quite the same’

Searle said that he photographed this Surrey forest scene in all its fogginess. According to Searle, ‘I like shooting locally when possible. It’s always an amazing experience to get out in the mountains, but it allows you to better understand the area, which opens up more opportunities for photography. 

The ‘Golden Bower,’ another beautiful forest scene from Surrey is also available. Searle: “I saw this.” [scene] whilst walking back to the car after a shoot and although I’d noticed these trees and their intricate shapes many times before, it was the light that caught my eye this time’

This stunning photo shows what Searle calls ‘an old, impressive-looking beech tree in Surrey Hills’. According to Searle, the tree was found buried in a nearby plantation and kept company by some old friends. The scene, he says, is an evocative of a past time before timber-growing was possible in the region. 

Above is ‘S-Curve’, which was commended in the ‘Your View’ category of this year’s Landscape Photographer of the Year (LPOTY) awards. This image was taken in Surrey and is currently on display at London Bridge Station until January 9, 2022. For more information about Searle’s work, visit his website or his Instagram page