Penn Wood nearly became a golf course. Burnham Beeches hid 100,000 military vehicles under its canopy before D-Day. Two heavyweight ancient woodlands, two very different characters, and between them some of the finest woodland photography conditions in the Chiltern Hills.

There are over a thousand named woodlands in the Chiltern Hills. Ancient, atmospheric, and free to walk into on any given morning with a camera and a dog. This is where the series starts — two of Buckinghamshire's finest bluebell woods, and why woodland photography will test your patience and reward it in equal measure.

Picking up the Sony A350 again has been like reopening an old chapter I didn’t realise I’d missed. My first digital DSLR after my film days, it brings back the joy of using a simple, stills-only camera — chunky, tactile, with a CCD sensor that gives black-and-white images real character. Slower walks, everyday routes, and a quiet rhythm of photography suit it perfectly. No expectations, no pressure — just a camera that lets me enjoy shooting again.

A slower space for black and white photography, countryside walks, and quiet moments from everyday England — where the focus is on the picture, not the platform.