How do you approach composition when photographing trees?

Vaughn said:

I am more of a 'finder' than a 'waiter'. I do have trees I go back to and check on the light, but mostly I just wander about looking at the light, and when a composition moves me, I set up the camera....

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Me too, mostly because the one's I'm waiting for never seem to happen again. There is one place I walk where the evening sunlight can slant through the oaks in a certain way. The one time I saw it I did not have a camera with me. I walk there almost every week, usually in late afternoon or early evening, for more than 10 years, but I've never seen it since.

Vaughn, here's what I'm curious about: When you go out to the redwoods with your big camera, do you come home with exposures most of the time? Are there trips where you don't find the right light, and then don't try anyway?

NedL said:

...Vaughn, here's what I'm curious about: When you go out to the redwoods with your big camera, do you come home with exposures most of the time? Are there trips where you don't find the right light, and then don't try anyway?

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Most of the time I expose a sheet or two, occasionally 6 to 8 sheets. I have learned to judge the conditions I will find fairly well. The redwoods I enjoy going to the most are 50 miles to the north...and occasionally 40 miles to the south. The main condition I am looking for is a windless day...often the calm before and after a storm. My exposures tend to be in the minutes. Along a creek, if there is no weather system bringing in some wind, one can expect relatively windless conditions around mid-day. The early morning down-canyon breezes decrease and the afternoon up-canyon breezes have not let started. I hit it right perhaps 2 out of three trips. That 1 trip out of three I will wander around with the 8x10 anyway...perhaps the wind will die down or I will find a way to use the movement of the ferns, etc. (see my signature!) never is it a wasted trip!

When I was printing with silver gelatin paper, I use to also go for only foggy or overcast days -- there is plenty (but not too much) contrast to be found under the redwoods for that material. I was looking for light that I could express without drastically altering the range of values found. Sunny days would require a heavy hand in compensating development squishing up the highlight values -- reducing the separation between fine highlight values. Under cloudy/foggy conditions I find the time between 10am and 2pm to be the best light -- quite civilized...no waking before dawn stuff! It is like photographing under a very large soft-box. Sometimes the overcast will turn into rain -- oh well...still nice to be there.

One of the reasons I started carbon printing was the very long scale possible in a carbon print -- hence the image I shared here of the waterfall with the direct sunlight light falling on the scene and with some deep shadow areas. Here was a process that allowed me to expose the negative and give either 'normal' or extended development when I found a range of 7 to 13 stops of light in a scene...and get those values to be readily reproduced in the print. Carbon printing opened up a whole new type of light to play with!

Bill Burk said:

What's your approach?

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I would have the camera in hand.

Thanks!

I understand this sentiment very well:

Vaughn said:

Sometimes the overcast will turn into rain -- oh well...still nice to be there.

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Sirius Glass said:

I would have the camera in hand.

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For that tree I started this thread about... It was in my daypack and the tripod was in hand. Had to hump a bit of a hill. Steep, slippery (due to oak leaves)... And more dangerous on the way down (due to the same leaves)... But I was careful and happy. I'm sure I've got the shot.

Lots of mistletoe.

Vaughn said:

No worries...It was not obvious.

Sometimes one finds an image with-in an image. After taking the one of my boys (159mm lens on 8x10), I noticed the redwood off in the light in the far back left. I used a 19" lens for it (4x10). I was set-up about 15 to 20 feet above the ground on some fallen redwoods. Both are platinum prints.

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I remember seeing many of these when you had your show in Philadelphia last year. Wonderful sensitive atmospheric work. Thanks again for sharing.

And a few of mine.

My approach is to wait until the tree speaks to me, and then try to make a photograph.

Trees are my special joy.

johara said:

And a few of mine.

My approach is to wait until the tree speaks to me, and then try to make a photograph.

Trees are my special joy.

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Your approach is to use a very special kind of film and developer match, that contrast is amazing

Thanks, Stone. It is TMAX (either flavor) with D-23.

And at least one tree.

johara said:

And a few of mine.

My approach is to wait until the tree speaks to me, and then try to make a photograph.

Trees are my special joy.

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That is fine work, you obviously have a special rapport with the trees.

johara said:

Thanks, Stone. It is TMAX (either flavor) with D-23.

And at least one tree.

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Tmax surprises me, D-23 I'm not familiar with.

I figures FP4+ and pyro, shows what I know

johara said:

And a few of mine.

My approach is to wait until the tree speaks to me, and then try to make a photograph.

Trees are my special joy.

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Well worth the wait! Particularly the image with just the bit of sunlight just caressing the tops of the horizontal trunks (middle image). Glad you had the chance to see the Philly show!

Thanks, Vaugh. That one reminds me of Philip Larkin:


The trees are coming into leaf
Like something almost being said...

StoneNYC said:

Wow that's a beautiful twist in the trunk. Portra?

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No it was Velvia 50. Here's another one with Velvia. I came across this right after the snow stopped. I wanted to capture the quietness that I felt. You know the kind that the snow muffles and the only thing you hear are the crunches under your feet. When the sun started to set, the pinks just added to the serenity. I think I caught it.

Vaughn said:

I am more of a 'finder' than a 'waiter'. I do have trees I go back to and check on the light, but mostly I just wander about looking at the light, and when a composition moves me, I set up the camera.

This one has trees in it -- and a waterfall, but it is more about the falling light. In my wanderings (first and only time I have been in this spot), I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. I was a bit worried because two women were showed up and were hanging out in 'my' scene as I was setting up. But they let on their own soon enough and the light only got better as I waited!

5x7 carbon print. (Columbia River Gorge, OR)

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I like the scale of this as well as the tones and light. Well done.

MattKing said:

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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Nice shot. The colors and depth are well picked up. Velvia?

Nope - Ektachrome - E100G

Haha we're all color wrong here... Or film type wrong hah!

Oh Velvia50.... She is my other (very expensive) mistress...

johara said:

Thanks, Vaugh. That one reminds me of Philip Larkin:


The trees are coming into leaf
Like something almost being said...

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johara, your trees resonate, very nicely done.

Thank you, Bill.

Trees aren't so hard to shoot, main trick to keep in mind is basically using the same rules you'd use in any fine art shot. For it to be successful you gotta nail the composition first, create interest with the setting, use the lines of tree branches, use golden ratio/rule of thirds etc. It's all in the details. I try to get away from the 'boring' look you might see in a snapshot (I've done it myself: you get to the place, see a tree and start shooting without thinking, then realize it sucks), try to see the tree as a potential portrait. It's like taking a photo of a person, you can capture their essence, beauty, their unique feature or you can do a snapshot. You can focus on a specific feature or you can take in the whole crowd.

I love shooting trees. probably shoot more of them than anything else. I spend a lot of time on day hikes. Being in the south bay area we are so lucky to have many parks within a 30 minute drive that seem like when you are there to be worlds away. I don't know about you but I find that black and white does trees justice. Not sure why but the lines to me show up better that way as sometimes the color can take your focus away. I love the geometric shapes, the randomness of the lines from the trunks and branches and how you can frame things within the branches, between the branches and so on.

I do have a friend that has a real large (by normal standards) and rare albino redwood on his property in the santa cruz big basin area. Now for that I have to shoot color just to show the awe inspiring rarity of the subject.

one of my recent favs. not sure why, but looks like the tree is breathing fire thanks to rollei retro 80s and a red filter