Whitefield Moor, New Forest 1 Apr 2024 07:15
Sunrise on Whitefield Moor
A still, misty, spring morning in The New Forest. The sun rises over Whitefield Moor, casting its soft glow over the dewy grass. You can hear them first in the darkness, the rhythmic crunch of fresh grass being voraciously torn from the ground then, as the light moves from twilight to dawn, from blue hour to golden hour, the familiar shapes of the New Forest ponies emerge, a constant presence in this ancient, yet man-made, landscape.
Each herd has its own territory, a patch of this vast, open expanse where they graze in unison, a Savannah in miniature. Their movements are a slow, relentless, synchronised ballet accompanied by an orchestral percussion of tearing grass and champing. They are the architects of these grasslands, their perpetual munching keeping potential successional species - heather and gorse - at bay.
On this morning, by chance they've arranged themselves into a picture-perfect mirrored scene, with long morning shadows cast by silhouettes fortuitously outlined against the rising sun. Moments like these are what make the New Forest so magical, a reminder of nature’s simple beauty and the harmony between animals and their environment.
Olympus E-M5ii 24mm(equiv) f10 1/500sec Processed in Lightroom (macOS)
Each herd has its own territory, a patch of this vast, open expanse where they graze in unison, a Savannah in miniature. Their movements are a slow, relentless, synchronised ballet accompanied by an orchestral percussion of tearing grass and champing. They are the architects of these grasslands, their perpetual munching keeping potential successional species - heather and gorse - at bay.
On this morning, by chance they've arranged themselves into a picture-perfect mirrored scene, with long morning shadows cast by silhouettes fortuitously outlined against the rising sun. Moments like these are what make the New Forest so magical, a reminder of nature’s simple beauty and the harmony between animals and their environment.
Olympus E-M5ii 24mm(equiv) f10 1/500sec Processed in Lightroom (macOS)