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How do you approach composition when photographing trees?

Almost all redwood lumber now comes from farmed groves, and I tend to contemptuously refer to the marketed product as "pinkwood" because it is so much
less dense than old growth redwood lumber. The hills above here once held the tallest trees on earth, and every one of them was cut down. All the redwoods up there now are planted second growth. It is amazing how well designed these trees are at conducting fog moisture into the immediate ecosystem, even where official rainfall amounts are less than ideal. But they can also act like a big umbrella, and numerous times I've had a view camera propped up under one during a heavy rain, without me or my gear getting wet. Last month I was on Maui, where the mid-elevations resemble Marin County here, with open meadows surrounded by transplanted redwood an blue gum groves. I particularly like to play cat and mouse games with the lighting in the redwoods, which can be rather soft and mystical when the fog is present, and then rather quickly transition into hard and crisp, with extreme contrast lighting ratios, once the fog breaks around midday. The latter scenario will quickly separate the men from the boys when it comes to film choice and Zone System skills (plan on twelve or more zones, not eight! - sorry AA, but I don't believe in compensating developers - give me a long-scale film to begin with).
 
Actually the tree situation in the US is a bit scary. Way back in the early last century there was the chestnut blight that pretty well wiped out that species (there have been some resistant variations found now making a bit of a comeback). Dutch elm disease has seriously assaulted the American elm which used to line many town streets. And now in addition to the ash problem, there is anthracnose fungus killing off the native dogwoods, woolly adelgid seriously reducing hemlock stands and there are reports of "sudden oak death" in parts of the country. (See evolution at work!) There is also the Asian longhorned beetle, an "import" lurking here and there infesting hardwoods.
 

I think that's a splendid experiment! I think the two series would have different feel. For example if they were shown on separate walls or separate rooms, viewers would sense "something" was different, even if they couldn't place it.
 

Nice shot. You've gotta come out to California and see some of our Ponderosa Pines... I haven't any B&W to share, but they have that "jigsaw puzzle" flaking that leads to infinite compositions. I think you'd enjoy a variation on that theme.
 
DREW WILEY said:
... - sorry AA, but I don't believe in compensating developers - give me a long-scale film to begin with).
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That and long-scale photographic processes!

What is amazing is to see a ring of huge redwoods that started out as sprouts around the 'parent' tree. The parent tree has completely disappeared...and it takes a long time for a standing redwood to rot away. So the sprouts are somewhere around 1000 years old (give or take 500), and the parent tree might have lived that long, or longer. The sprouts are genetically the same tree as the parent tree, so it could be argued that they are 2000+ years old.

This photo is from 1986 and the redwood had fallen within about ten years of this photo. Now the trunk is an elevated forest -- no space to walk (or lay) on it anymore (The wood imp might still be there, but I never saw her again... )

PS -- thanks, Bill. I have been photographing along this section of creek for over 30 years...never tire of it...always something new.
 

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That's wonderful, Vaughn. I absolutely worship trees and would be happy to spend the rest of my life underneath one. They are indeed magical, and many people must think so, because it seems the main subject of interest in many circles. (I think).

Aside from what Cindy Sherman said, I will never tire from looking at pictures of trees. Nev-Ver!

And, right now I'm a hapless urban dweller that longs for the forests again. So, I have to get mine by proxy.
 
VaryaV said:
That's wonderful, Vaughn. I absolutely worship trees and would be happy to spend the rest of my life underneath one.
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Quite a few years ago I was walking under the redwoods (on a ridgetop trail) with the university's 4x5 during a 60+ MPH windstorm. Branches were falling from 200+ feet above me -- I certainly thought it was a possibility of spending the rest of my short life underneath one of them! Over the years I got better at judging when the windless days were happening in the redwoods and what the light quality would be. At first it was one trip out of three (it is a 50 mile drive to my favorite area), and now I can hit it right 7 or 8 times out of ten. The other times I just have a great day hanging out in the redwoods...and it is good exercise walking around with 60 pounds of 8x10 stuff -- and who knows, one might come across some still air, or find a way to use the movement to make an image!

I do have my favorite trees that I enjoy visiting during the 35 or so years I have been photographing there. I have seen some of my favorite maples die and fall...the big-leaf maple in the first image of the five I posted has lost one of the two trunks, but the vine maples in the last image still dance around the redwood each Fall. Redwoods have fallen to open up large areas to the light, and I have seen areas of light slowly fill in. As Cliveh seemed to ask, does spending that much time studying the light and the landscape in a particular place allow one to make more meaningful images of that place? Could anyone see any difference with a photo(s) taken by someone just 'passing through'? My ego would like to think so, but it would depend on the skills and insight (and luck) of the visitor, too.

But I also enjoy photographing in the desert, and this is a different approach to photographing a tree, it has created its own 'ecosystem' that I thought it was important to represent:
(Death Valley, 8x10 platinum print)
 

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A beautiful photograph in every way!
RR
 
Somehow, I seem to always take pictures of things in their shadows. Perhaps I'm always looking down at my feet (I have a walking problem).

RE: imperiled trees - I just finished reading The Man Who Planted Trees by Jim Robbins. It's about an eccentric gentleman who believes his calling in life is to clone "Champion Trees", i.e., the biggest, broadest exemplars of their species. Not a real page turner, but it's good to know some of the wackos in the world are doing positive things.

Charley
 
Thanks, RR!
 
I treat trees as if they were people. If an old, fat tree can stand its own in the middle of an empty field, then no need to add any more. If a skinny sapling is better off in the company of friends, then let it be so. However, in the end if a tree or group of trees fail to add anything to the composition or leave your shot a mess of confusing twigs, then I'll either move to a better spot or forget it altogether.
 
What the heck - may as well add a tree/forest photo of my own.

Hope it survives the manipulations necessary to squeeze in on to the page - it looks a lot better as a print or, best yet, a projected transparency.
 

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It survived nicely, Matt! Good feeling of depth.
 
Vaughn and Matt - those pics are breathtaking! WOW! WOW! OMG! I know the 'groups' have all but died but a 'tree gallery' would be spectacular. I spend all day looking at Moersch and Morali trees on iPernity. Maybe we could just do something like that here. How beautiful and majestic they are! Take a deep breath and I can just smell the wet cedar and dampness from the lichen.

Oh we must have a tree gallery!
 
For me it's all about capturing the spirit of a place. If there are trees in it, I still focus on the place they are in, because that's important in how the tree developed into what it is.
The woods and trees are magical to me, so I try to capture that wonder, always interested in the light that surround them. Like Vaughn, I think the light makes the photograph come alive.
 

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Those are lovely Thomas. That 3rd one looks exactly like my dad's driveway. (sniff, sniff) Which I am really regretting not taking over now! I'd be a stone's throw from Photostock!!!!

Keep 'em coming folks! These are awesome.
 
Most excellent images, Thomas.
 
Thomas,wonderful images!Well done.I would love a book filled with images of this quality and atmosphere!

Sent from my LG-P509 using Tapatalk 2
 
VaryaV said:
Oh we must have a tree gallery!
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I'm in favour of this and I know the argument against would be why not have a portrait gallery, or a landscape gallery, but perhaps galleries covering some on specific genres would be a good idea. If APUG ever produces a book or ventures into online exhibitions, such galleries could prove useful.
 

I love this photograph and cheer every time I see it.
 
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