Flora of the Wood

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲

What followed felt less like taking a photograph and more like solving a compositional jigsaw. A step left, a pause. A step back, wait for the light to settle. Let the path lead the eye, let the trunks hold the frame, let the bluebells soften the edges.

Roots and Reflection

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲

Some places aren’t found on maps — they’re found by paws.

This spot wasn’t planned. No pin dropped, no route plotted. Just a golden retriever with a nose tuned to moisture and mischief, pulling slightly harder on the lead and insisting we turn this way.

Veil of Blue

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲

There’s a short window each year when the woodland floor turns into something quietly magical, and as a photographer, I simply can’t walk past it. Bluebells don’t ask for attention — they earn it.

Discovering Dale Abbey

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲

This photograph marks the beginning of my Discovering Dale Abbey journey — a deliberate shift from chasing distant, well-known locations to exploring what’s right on my doorstep.

Sleepy Hollow

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲

The deeper I moved into the woodland, the more the landscape began to open itself up to me. What started as a single path quickly became a network of possibilities.

Between Fog and Fern

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲

Early spring didn’t hold back. I was met with soft mist and drifting fog just as the bluebells were reaching their peak, the woodland alive but still hushed. The path through the frame felt symbolic — not just leading into the woods, but forward into a new chapter.

Phillip William Jenner, a photographer based in Dale Abbey, Derbyshire

Phillip William Jenner is a passionate photographer based in Derbyshire, in the heart of the East Midlands.