You never really know when you capture an image and submit it for stock, just how, where, and even if, it will end up getting used. Our images have turned up in some unexpected places over the years, for example, as part of a school exam paper, in a government document, and on a US billboard. Some end uses seem odd, some surreal and some are a nice surprise when the sales reports turn up each quarter. But until this month we’ve never had one of our pictures used on a postage stamp.

The picture in question is an autumnal shot of our local woodland, a regular haunt when we fancy a short stroll from home and don’t want to drive far. It shows a row of beech trees by the track not far from the entrance to Sidwood, which is part of Kielder Forest.  It was used as one of a special series of stamps issued this August to mark the centenary of the Forestry Commission. The beech trees often catch our eye when we pass, but in autumn, dressed in their rich gold and copper finery, they beg to be photographed as well as admired. Strong seasonal imagery is always on the ‘wants list’ of most picture agencies for obvious reasons which is another reason why we couldn’t pass by without trying to do justice to the evocative scene.