Perhaps you need to be more mindful. Is it the whole tree in the landscape or are you looking for the small things such as texture, foliage etc? At one time I would look at a location and think there was nothing to take, then I learned to look for the smaller things, perhaps the eye-catching or just plain quirky - whatever. It takes application and thought but it's worth trying!
nj53
Loc: Canon City, Colorado
here's a dominant tree, with a few of his pals, getting ready for Christmas!
Yes, I followed the gnome, but had not heard that it was destroyed and the perpetrators jailed.
rehess
Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA
grandpaw wrote:
I follow and watch a lot of photography videos and I am wondering a what point does taking a photo of an individual tree become a requirement. A lot of photographers seem to do this. It really hasn't appealed to me, is there something I am missing? They seem to go on and on about the composition and how beautiful the scene of the single tree is. I don't get it! What am I missing???
At least a single tree has changed since the last photograph of it was taken - unlike the moon, which looks basically the same in ever photograph and has been photographed better by NASA than any individual will do here on earth.
In 2014-15 I drove from San Francisco to New York City and back taking photos of trees along the way. After, I had a show of about 30 of the trees along with their stories. One had assisted in a hanging, two were famous oaks (Austin, TX and Auburn, AL) that had been poisoned—both perpetrators went to jail. There are other stories these trees tell.
grandpaw wrote:
I follow and watch a lot of photography videos and I am wondering a what point does taking a photo of an individual tree become a requirement. A lot of photographers seem to do this. It really hasn't appealed to me, is there something I am missing? They seem to go on and on about the composition and how beautiful the scene of the single tree is. I don't get it! What am I missing???
Trees have been fascinating photographic subjects for a long time. They can appear to exhibit personality and character like people and therefore have often been used as symbols of longevity, endurance, and stalwartness. Some look stately and elegant, while others can have an outright spooky appearance. People sometimes change the natural appearance of trees by stunting or otherwise training their branches as in bonsai trees or decorative garden trees. I believe that trees can be beautiful subjects for the camera.
peter pat wrote:
Photographer Jim, that is a great photo. What type of tree was it? Where is that?
Remnant of bristlecone pine. Taken at 11,000 ft In the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in the White Mountains east of Bishop, CA.
grandpaw wrote:
I follow and watch a lot of photography videos and I am wondering a what point does taking a photo of an individual tree become a requirement. A lot of photographers seem to do this. It really hasn't appealed to me, is there something I am missing? They seem to go on and on about the composition and how beautiful the scene of the single tree is. I don't get it! What am I missing???
It depends. One of the most beautiful images is a tree that is perfectly shaped by nature ( or as I believe, by the Creator). There is a particular tree in a local cow pasture near my home that even my wife "wows" about it. I've been wanting to shoot this tree for years... but have not been able. It's about 300 yards off the road. My only problem is that the bull can run faster than I can. So I continue to admire this tree from the highway.
One of my favorite tree photo places!!
I have heard it said that a good photo should tell a story. This photo of germinating Ponderosa Pine tells a story of potential. These trees can live for hundreds of years, provide wildlife habitat, shade, sequester tons of atmospheric carbon and produce countless progeny using locally sourced water and nutrients, all with solar power. That story is worthy of unending photo ops.
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