This article shares some handheld images taken in Whakarewarewa Forest which is near Rotorua on the North Island of New Zealand. We spent about an hour and a half exploring some of the walking trails, as intermittent rain fell.

NOTE: Click on images to enlarge.

There are over 5600 hectares of forest to explore, with a number of walking trails and opportunities for mountain biking and horse riding. Planting of the Redwood Grove in Rotorua began in 1901, with mixed results. The largest Redwood in Whakarewarewa is approximately 72 metres (~236 feet) tall and 169 centimetres (~ 5.54 feet) in diameter.

The trails we used were easy to navigate, consisting of a combination of wooden walkways and well worn natural paths.

When photographing stands of very tall, straight trees one of the challenges that we face is what to do with wide angle distortion. The image above illustrates uncorrected wide angle distortion. Some folks may like the feeling of convergence in this image. Others, like me, may not.

Here is another version of the same photograph where the wide angle distortion has been corrected with the perspective control feature in DxO PhotoLab7. This correction took less than 10 seconds to do. Many photographic software programs provide this type of feature.

When photographing in the forest it is important to look for areas of visual contrast, groupings of elements and opposing angles. In the image above the pathway provides an area of visual relief and acts as a leading line. The grouping of tall trees on the left hand side creates some initial vertical eye flow. The fallen tree trunk on the right hand side, pointing down towards the path, helps to hold a viewer’s eye towards the bottom left corner. This is further enhanced by the horizontal tree branches which cut over the vertical tree trunks.

We can also create some eye flow by grouping larger, thicker trees on one side of our composition. This helps to create eye flow towards the more open side of the composition. Having some people in our photograph can add scale to our image.

Often forests have very dense ground cover. Using natural dividing lines like a stream can help create a leading line and balance, in what would otherwise be a very busy and unfocused composition.

Another type of opportunity is to try to separate different species, and highlight their differences. For example, placing more delicate plants up against a backdrop of larger trees. This can make for an interesting juxtaposition in a composition.

Forests have a plethora of trees competing for water, nutrients and sunlight. They can also compete visually in our compositions. By adjusting our physical shooting angle we can hide some smaller, distracting trees behind larger ones to create better eye flow, and simplify a composition. You can see how the three large trees in the image above dominate this composition and help to guide your eye down the pathway.

Leaving dedicated pathways can also be helpful if we want to compose from a higher elevation. This can add more depth to a composition and enable us to integrate more elements into it. Make sure that there are no restrictions about leaving dedicated pathways in the location you are visiting. Going off established pathways can sometimes damage plants and delicate root systems. It can also lead to unfortunate encounters with wildlife, including poisonous snakes and insects.

We can often find repeating patterns along pathways in forests. These can be effectively used to create depth of field and eye flow in a composition.

Looking for single elements on the ground, or a number of them that are strewn about, present photographic opportunities as they can be integrated into our images. In the photograph above my wife used a fallen tree trunk as a leading line in the bottom left corner. This brings a viewer’s eye to the large cut portion of a fallen tree. She also used a reveal on the right hand side of her composition to help focus a viewer’s eye flow on that large cut portion of the fallen tree.

Double reveal opportunities can often be found along pathways in forests. In the image above you can see how using subject bleeds on the large trees on the left and right hand sides of this composition creates a double reveal… helping to force your eye down the pathway and into the image.

Here is an example of another double reveal. In this case it was intended to draw your attention to the delicate ferns on the forest floor.

Reveals can also be used to create a heightened sense of intimacy in a composition. I was in quite tight to the large tree on the right hand side of this composition. A viewer’s eye is drawn to the moss on the base of the tree trunk… thus acting as a corner anchor. Eye flow then moves to the large tree trunk on the left hand side… then down the pathway.

We can create a 3-D effect by overlapping one element over another… like the large tree branch cutting over the bench in the image above.

A well worn pathway can provide visual relief in a composition and serve as an effective leading line.

While we often may place wooden walkways in the centre of a composition, they can also be placed to one side if our objective is to highlight the underbrush and small trees. Rule of thirds positioning is often used in this scenario.

Using a wide angle focal length with a vertical composition can be an effective way to create a dramatic sense of scale in a composition. When photographing in forests it is always a good idea to remind ourselves to shoot compositions from both horizontal and vertical perspectives.

Technical Note

Photographs were captured handheld using camera equipment  noted in the EXIF data. All images were created from RAW files using my standard process in post. This is the 1,438 article published on this website since its original inception in 2015.

How you can keep this website advertising free

My intent is to keep this photography blog advertising free. If you enjoyed this article and/or my website and would like to support my work, you can purchase an eBook, or make a donation through PayPal (see Donate box below). Both are most appreciated. Sometimes all we need as photographers is a bit of inspiration. We hope you can find some of that inside Finding Visual Expression II.

Buy

Finding Visual Expression II is available for download for an investment of $11.99 CDN. The best viewing experience of this eBook will be at 100% using Adobe Acrobat Reader.

You may be interested in all of the 30 concepts covered in both of these related eBooks. If so, you may want to also consider Finding Visual Expression.

Buy

Finding Visual Expression is available for download for an investment of $11.99 Cdn. The best viewing experience of this eBook will be at 100% using Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Our other eBooks include Images of Ireland, New Zealand Tip-to-Tip, Nikon 1: The Little Camera That Could, Desert & Mountain Memories, Images of Greece, Nova Scotia Photography Tour, and a business leadership parable… Balancing Eggs.

If you click on the Donate button below you will find that there are three donation options: $7.50, $10.00 and $20.00. All are in Canadian funds. Plus, you can choose a different amount if you want. You can also increase your donation amount to help offset our costs associated with accepting your donation through PayPal. An ongoing, monthly contribution to support our work can also be done through the PayPal Donate button below.

You can make your donation through your PayPal account, or by using a number of credit card options.

Word of mouth is the best form of endorsement. If you like our website please let your friends and associates know about our work. Linking to this site or to specific articles is allowed with proper acknowledgement. Reproducing articles, or any of the images contained in them, on another website or in any social media posting is a Copyright infringement.

Article is Copyright 2025 Thomas Stirr. Images are Copyright 2024 Thomas Stirr and Rosemary Stirr. All rights reserved. No use, duplication or adaptation of any kind is allowed without written consent. If you see this article reproduced anywhere else it is an unauthorized and illegal use. Posting comments on offending websites and calling out individuals who steal intellectual property is always appreciated!