for the love of a tree
Decided to give this photo op the attention it deserved.
This image a blend of two frames at f/2.8 (bg) and F/13 (stump face). Read on . . . .
Feeling sad about this backyard Oak tree that had to be taken down (it was split right to the ground - the ugly split, just out of this frame on the bottom). The view of this frame “life size” is 41 inches wide (I included one frame with a ruler and included it as layer in my edit to measure "life size"). The tree was about 200 years old (can you zoom in and count the rings?). For the redux, I rubbed the surface with a rag wetted with mineral spirits to bring out the grain.
Over the years my family and I have enjoyed this tree immensely and i have captured many images with my camera related to this tree and the wildlife it has supported. Many of the images are sprinkled throughout my FLICKR photostream. A pair of Red-tailed Hawks nested in it for years, followed by Great Horned Owls that took over the hawk nest. Half of the tree had died some years ago and it had become like a Squirrel hotel housing a dozen or more squirrels. Oddly enough even with the squirrels using the hollow mainly in the winter, for about three summers in a row wild Honey Bees had a great hive in the same hollow accessed through the same squirrel knot-hole. I always imagined the squirrels gorging on honeycomb and putting up with sticky, matted fur for the winter. The tree also served as a roost for Wild Turkeys, not to mention the many backyard and song birds and insects it supported. I will greatly miss this old friend.
Next spring, it's time to plant. Of course, not for me - because the best time to plant a tree is twenty five years ago. Second best time to plant is next spring, i.e., NOW.
“This is not our world with trees in it. It's a world of trees, where humans have just arrived.”
~ Richard Powers, “The Overstory
"The Overstory" is an excellent read btw - I recommend it.
for the love of a tree
Decided to give this photo op the attention it deserved.
This image a blend of two frames at f/2.8 (bg) and F/13 (stump face). Read on . . . .
Feeling sad about this backyard Oak tree that had to be taken down (it was split right to the ground - the ugly split, just out of this frame on the bottom). The view of this frame “life size” is 41 inches wide (I included one frame with a ruler and included it as layer in my edit to measure "life size"). The tree was about 200 years old (can you zoom in and count the rings?). For the redux, I rubbed the surface with a rag wetted with mineral spirits to bring out the grain.
Over the years my family and I have enjoyed this tree immensely and i have captured many images with my camera related to this tree and the wildlife it has supported. Many of the images are sprinkled throughout my FLICKR photostream. A pair of Red-tailed Hawks nested in it for years, followed by Great Horned Owls that took over the hawk nest. Half of the tree had died some years ago and it had become like a Squirrel hotel housing a dozen or more squirrels. Oddly enough even with the squirrels using the hollow mainly in the winter, for about three summers in a row wild Honey Bees had a great hive in the same hollow accessed through the same squirrel knot-hole. I always imagined the squirrels gorging on honeycomb and putting up with sticky, matted fur for the winter. The tree also served as a roost for Wild Turkeys, not to mention the many backyard and song birds and insects it supported. I will greatly miss this old friend.
Next spring, it's time to plant. Of course, not for me - because the best time to plant a tree is twenty five years ago. Second best time to plant is next spring, i.e., NOW.
“This is not our world with trees in it. It's a world of trees, where humans have just arrived.”
~ Richard Powers, “The Overstory
"The Overstory" is an excellent read btw - I recommend it.