Burnby Hall Gardens

I have been to Burnby Hall Gardens twice now, however, I wanted to ensure I took some infrared images this time. The location is well suited to photography because it is so well designed that it is quite easy to get a good composition, however, there are times of the year which are better suited to infrared photography, namely ensuring it is a hot, sunny day but also making sure that the majority of lilies are open which is generally June – August. So, I made the trip in August although a little disappointed as there were not as many lilies in bloom as I assumed would be open. There were a lot more tourists compared to the last time I visited, however, there are plenty of seating areas and most of them were moving at a sedentary pace, given the age range appeared to be mostly at the pensioner end of the scale, so it was relatively easy to set up the tripod and take a photo on a slow shutter speed before anyone came around the corner or down the pathway.

The composition around the bridge is stunning and it makes me think of Monet’s water-lily pond paintings. The most interesting part of the day was attempting to photograph the white doves in their dovecot. The best composition was situated at a distance and to the side of the hedge. This meant that any visitors coming along the back pathway would not see me as I would be out of their eyeshot if they walked towards the dovecot. One such gentleman did this as I had just clicked the shutter and he stayed there for almost the full 30 seconds that I was taking the image. The final image of him was quite ghostly and I some of the doves which had been fluttering in and out of their home, took on an interesting element which I had not anticipated. Overall, the whole place deemed another which was too pretty, although the movement caused by the man and the doves (together with the grazing cows at the RSPB) has given me food for thought, as I am drawn to this vision of something not appearing fully present.