The Orchard

I ignored the orchard in Milton Country Park until the middle of August.  I ignored the orchard because all my previous attempts at photographing an orchard had ended in failure.  The lines of trees full of blossom or heavy with fruit always finished up looking messy and lacking impact in my images.

Orchard - 6 September 2015

With the bench donated by Cambridge Building Society in the foreground, this image at least gives some suggestion of serried ranks of trees. 

Wild Flowers

Orchard - 16 August 2015

I probably would have continued to avoid the orchard had it not been for this white campion growing in the the corner of the fence.  I am always interested in plants growing in obviously man made surroundings such as walls, pavements, and, in this case, through the mesh of the fence.

Orchard - 17 August 2015

It was while photographing the campion that my eye was caught by the orange marigolds in the newly planted wild flower bed on the mound below the seat.  I regretted not having visited this area earlier, as clearly the flowers here are past their best.

Orchard - 17 August 2015

The trees in the orchard provide an appropriate backdrop to this statuesque teasel.

Fruit

Orchard - 23 August 2015

At the end of the day, an orchard is about fruit. In this image, the unripe apples gleam in the morning sun and stand out from the surrounding foliage.  There is the promise of a good harvest.

Orchard - Various Dates 2015

Finally, here are some of the fruit 'picked' by the camera.

Despite repeated visits to the orchard during August and September, I failed to convincingly capture the trees laden with fruit that I saw with the naked eye.  The fruit somehow disappears into the foliage when it is photographed.  The only time the fruit is the clear star of the image is in close-up, and then you can't see the orchard for the fruit.  This is clear example of the major difference between human vision and what the camera sees.  When we look at a scene, our attention is focussed on what interests us, which looms large; what does not interest us is ignored.  The camera records everything dispassionately and objectively with equal emphasis. 

Next: Fruit