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The second largest forest in Denmark, Rold Forest, on the northern part of the Jutland peninsula contains parts of old beech forest, otherwise scarce in Denmark. In one of these called the Troll Forest, the trees are very gnarly with branches spreading out from the ground, nothing like the trees in most beech forests. Their strange shapes most likely result from a combination of animal browsing, fungi, frost and wind.
Other than being an interesting fairytale-like forest, it is also very picturesque. So I went, expecting being knee high in great images instantly. However it turned out to be a lot more difficult than expected.
First of all photographing in a forest can be tricky because of the large contrasts in ligt. Especially in a beech forest where only little light reach the forest floor, and even if some light get through, these patches will most likely end up overexposed unless the rest of the picture is left in the dark. So unless you prefer to photoshopping (merging several different exposures into one), you will just have to incorporate these contrasts creatively in the picture. Needless to say a tripod is of good use when having to expose for the darker parts.
The other big challenge was actually composing the picture. Though being surrounded by obviously interesting shapes, I found it very difficult to decide how to shot it. It is definately a lot harder than working with a solitary tree on a field. But though difficult, at the end of the day I did go home with a few decent pictures of this special place. I certainly found a new discipline, forest photography, that I (also) need to practice, and I recommend anyone who feels like a creative challenge to venture into the forests with your camera.
