A companion to White Wood in spring, this photo was taken just a few metres, and six months, from the other one. The bright russet of the bracken caught my eye, as did the repeated wavering patterns of the trunks. I didn't appreciate, until I saw the image full-sized, that there was a narrow window to the opposite side if the Dart valley almost in the centre of the frame.
Dartmoor is commonly thought of as a bleak and treeless waste, but is home to a number of ancient oak woodlands. In these sheltered woods, mossy boulders and lichen-festooned branches combine to lend a primæval atmosphere, almost unchanged since lowland England was almost entirely forested. The oakwoods are special places at any time of year, but especially in Spring when the young ochre foliage is just budding, and sunlight can shine on the floor.
One of the tricks to photographing woods is to find a viewpoint that imposes some sense of order on the fractal, chaotic nature of trees. Here, I have focused on a single specimen whose fanned branches lead the eye about the frame.