It's that time of year once more, when the bluebells appear in swathes in ancient woodlands with their heady wild hyacinth scent and lovely deep blue-violet flowers. Mind you a few can have white or pink flowers too but mostly they are blue.They are a photographers delight but also a provide a great challenge to capture their true colour just right!

If you do decide to go out snapping bluebells with your camera remember they are precious and vulnerable and thus to be cared for. Be aware of your feet and where you step, as bluebells are easily inadvertently crushed. It can be so tempting to step into the middle of a bluebell swathe to take the perfect photo, but trampling on these delicate flowers causes them long-lasting damage and they won’t recover.

They are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981). This means digging up the plant or bulb in the countryside is prohibited and landowners are prohibited from removing bluebells from their land to sell. The species was also listed on Schedule 8 of the Act in 1998, which makes trading in wild bluebell bulbs and seeds an offence. This legislation was designed to protect bluebell from unscrupulous bulb collectors who supply garden centres. 

Treated with the respect it deserves, this ancient woodland species of wild hyacinth each year continues, for a fleeting few weeks, to provide us with a carpet of blue flowers to be wondered at and cherished. One of natures spectacular displays.

All pictures made with my Fuji X-T50 and Fujinon XF 70-300mm f4-5.6 R LM OIS WR.