Friday, May 24, 2013

Old Tree Challenge

The author of one of my photography books challenged readers to go out in the backyard and find one thing to photograph - just one thing.  The rest of the challenge was to find several different viewpoints.  Being the dutiful student I am, I grabbed Clyde (my camera) and the Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens; I headed outside at 6:30am ... to what I consider a very boring backyard.

I don't like my eucalyptus tree because it's a very dirty tree and parts of it are really ugly.  But today, I looked for something different and found it! 

While shooting, I wanted to fill the frame so no post-shoot cropping was necessary. Feel free to comment!  I'm learning ... and experimenting ... and I can use all the help I can get!

Early morning light on one side of the tree shows the rich earth tones of the trunk.

The gnarled base of the trunk shows the age of this tree. There are lots of different textures here - and the colors are so different.
 
In the midst of all the dead, shedding parts of the trunk, some life! 

Standing below, my tree looks like it reaches the clouds ... and it just might.

There's some history in this ancient tree.  One huge branch had to be removed because it was interfering with power lines.  But that sawed-off branch left a message:  "I was here."

Today, I saw that nasty old tree in a different light.  Now I think I kinda like it!  ☺
 

2 comments:

  1. I like how you captured the light vs. shadows in these. Being an artist, I always will notice shadows before anything else. Next, you show the textures very well, it seems I should be able to reach out and feel the roughness of the bark. Nice job. I also like the one which shows a few leaves against the rough bark.

    I think you have done a great job on this "assignment" and probably learned a lot. Shooting photos in the early morning light is always a blessing, you will always see something in the shadows that aren't apparent in full sunlight.

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  2. Excellent! I think I will do that.

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Please feel free to comment! I learn when I see my work through your eyes!