First Hand Field Research - Environments

In order to improve the amount of first hand research and referencing for my project I decided to take myself out for the day and do some exploring around the local area. I ended up at the local quarry which I knew would be full of life and would provide me with some awesome references that I could use. 

The quarry itself is abandoned as all the major rocks and minerals had already been mined out of it, whats been left now is a one mile crater in the middle of the forest that woodland life has slowly begun creeping its way into. Due to the mix of weather, hollowed out explosives craters and general secrecy of the area there has become several forms of habitat for a wide variety of wild animals in the area. Ponds, long grasses, damp mosses, caverns and hollowed out rocky areas, all of these have become host to foxes, wild rabbits, squirrels, bats, moles, birds of prey, amphibians, fish and water birds such as Mallards and Swans. 

I spent the whole day exploring every nook and cranny, not so much looking for wildlife but more fitting scenery, textures and objects that i could involve in my world of Golgotha. I managed to take a number of different pictures showing the examples of how varied the quarry was and how I could incorporate such scenes into my work:

In the centre of the quarry is a hollowed out pond with a marsh surrounding it, this mashy swamp is full of toads, frogs and tadpoles from the recent mating season.

A shot of how the grass has begun to grow and shape itself over the scarred landscape left by dynamite, bulldozers and various other digging vehicles. The numerous lumps and hills in the ground make a good home for rabbits and an equally good spot for foxes on the hunt.

A closer look at the small pond in the centre of the quarry, Mallards and their mated pairs have been swimming here. The combination of pond grass, boulders and general landscaping makes this a beautiful photo for reference.

This is the only standing structure in the quarry, I'm not entirely sure what it actually is but the majority of it is under the soil which gave me the idea for referencing it as ancient ruins of some kind.

I took a picture of this Moss because as soon as I saw it I fell in love with its lush spongey texture and its various shades of green and lime. I could use this as reference for animal fur or perhaps some sort of moss / plant / tree hybrid.

This picture shows a clearing in the forest edge away from the quarry itself where a large pond has formed. I like how the trees have cleared and moulded around the pond, if I were to create a landscape for my world I would want a pond clearing like this only more green and lush, this could also be where I reference the Moss picture above.