Four Seasons in Sawtry
Jess and I moved to the quiet village of Sawtry in Cambridgeshire back in March of 2020, just before the UK went into its first Lockdown. With limited options for things to do in our newfound free time, we spent much of it enjoying the local area; going for walks in the nearby woods, navigating the countryside roads on our bikes and generally watching the time pass.
Upon reflection of my year’s album of photos, I realised that I had inadvertently captured the passing of all four seasons in Sawtry and the local woods. I found it fascinating to collate the images into their respective seasons and compare and contrast the differences, not just in the landscape, but also in my photography.
Spring brought around the start of the Pandemic lockdowns, so between settling into our new home, Zoom quizzes and queuing for food at the supermarket, our time was spent exploring the local bluebell woods which were beautifully in blossom. Monk’s, Archers and Aversley Woods are all a short distance from our house, so became our daily walking routes.
Summer was probably my least photographically active time of the year. Locked-down with no photography work, I fell into a creative rut and passed the time with DIY around the garden. Regrettably, I only took my camera out of the house on a handful of occasions for bike rides or walks, most notably for the visit of Jess’s family for a bumble through Archers Wood.
Autumn was entirely different for me; I bounced back from my creative rut full of enthusiasm and equipped with brand new full-frame equipment. The bold autumn colours were abundant and continued to draw me out of the house to capture them. I started experimenting with different editing styles too, to fit the mood of the day and what I discovered that day.
Winter brought with it some of my favourite conditions for landscape photography that I’ve ever experienced. Amongst the frequent rainy days, we’ve had some truly spectacularly mornings with frost, fog and even a bluebird snow day. Unexpectedly, the coldest mornings were the most appealing to venture out into with camera in hand.
I would previously have considered myself a “fair-weather photographer” preferring to work in the Spring and Summer when the conditions were warmer and brighter, more “picture perfect” I guess you could say; however if this year has taught me anything, it’s that each season brings with it a distinct feeling that is uniquely captivating and that I should make the most of documenting them all.
Footnote on equipment: Spring and Summer images taken on Lumix G9 with 8-18mm and 12-35mm lenses; Autumn and Winter photos taken on Lumix S5 with 24-70mm F2.8 lens.
