A Saffron Walden photographer said she was ‘shocked’ after hundreds of residents expressed appreciation for one of her pictures.

Lynne Blount recently posted a photograph she took in 2018 at Audley End in a Facebook residents' group.

The picture, called ‘Autumn Red’, gathered more than 300 likes and 75 comments.

Lynne said: “I was a bit shocked because I tend to operate on photographic sites where there are so many photographs to look at. I was surprised how many people liked it. People said it was like looking at a painting and this is what I try to do with lots of my pictures, I try to make them look like a painting.

“Lots of people saying it was beautiful, gorgeous, stunning, and there were lots and lots of comments, more than I have ever had on Facebook for one picture. One person asked me how to do it so I sent her a worksheet with instructions on how to do it.

“I think it is a very different kind of picture. People are used to seeing a picture of a tree. I don't think they would expect something that is a little bit different.”

The tree photograph took Lynne five hours to edit, and about 30 minutes to take the 50 pictures it is made of, and ensure there was not too much movement.

Lynne said: “You need a camera that will take quite a lot of pictures. You walk around the tree and you focus on one point like the trunk, you take a picture every three steps and then you use Photoshop to layer one in front of another and mask up anything you don't want. You end up with 50 to 100 pictures in one.

“It's a technique that is called 'in the round'. The photographer who made it very famous is Pep Ventosa and he applies it to most of his pictures of buildings, nature and people. I tend to just do nature.”

The photography was one of 30 chosen from 500 submitted for national competition She Clicks in Birmingham last year. Lynne’s picture was then exhibited at a show.

Lynne, who is part of Saffron Walden Camera Club, said she learned a lot from other members.

And although she lived in Saffron Walden and Newport for approximately 40 years, she still finds inspiration locally after all this time.

Saffron Walden Reporter: 'Summerhouse' was shot in Bridge End Gardens, Saffron Walden'Summerhouse' was shot in Bridge End Gardens, Saffron Walden (Image: Lynne Blount)

She said: “You can make an artistic picture out of anything.

“People often see me in Saffron Walden taking pictures of what they consider to be very strange things, but I use them to do something different.

Lynne’s photographs will soon be available to buy as prints or canvases on Picfair.com. You can follow her journey on lynneblount.com and on Instagram @lynneblount.

Saffron Walden Reporter: 'Lone Red Tree' was shot by Lynne Blount at Angelsey Abbey'Lone Red Tree' was shot by Lynne Blount at Angelsey Abbey (Image: Lynne Blount)

Saffron Walden Reporter: 'Orange Glory' was shot by Lynne Blount at Mark's Hall Arboretum near Colchester'Orange Glory' was shot by Lynne Blount at Mark's Hall Arboretum near Colchester (Image: Lynne Blount)