I currently work four days a week, with Wednesday being my day off work to care for my daughter. They’re busy days, book-ended by the school run for my son. But they’re precious days, and with her starting school herself next year, I’m trying to make the most of them.

I sometimes struggle to find ways to entertain her on these days, especially without spending a fortune. This week I had no doubt in my mind what I wanted to do though. The weather was glorious, there was a crisp chill to the air, and I knew I wanted to go for a walk in the woods. The best woods I know near here are located in The New Forest, and one location I love is the ornamental drive near Lyndhurst.

This is where the Ornamental Drive is located.

It’s a 45 minute drive from my home, and my daughter loved spotting the ponies on the way. I took my Fujifilm X100VI and my Nikon Z5II with the 85mm f1.8.

I was eager to take the X100, as I’d preloaded it with a recipe from http://film.recipes – called “Shinrin Yoku’. (You can download it here: https://film.recipes/2022/10/19/shinrin-yoku-forest-mindfulness-recipe/)

The walk itself, which I started from Blackwater Arboretum, was fairly straightforward and allowed my daughter plenty of opportunities to have an explore. I mostly took photos with the X100 in the end; I adore the 85mm focal length, but I found it difficult to find worthwhile compositions in the forest.

I edited the images in Lightroom, (keeping the Fuji recipes mostly the same, but sometimes brining down the highlights), and you can see them below.

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