Lowcountry Treasure
This is "Angel Oak", a Southern Live Oak tree on Johns Island, South Carolina near Charleston. Its age has been estimated at 400+ years but some estimates put it much older. It is still very much alive in spite of being damaged by hurricanes. The amazing thing about it is the vast canopy from its many twisting branches. The longest branch is 187ft long and its canopy shades an area of 17,200 square feet. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_Oak.
Pictures cannot do justice to what a magnificent tree this is, and I found it surprisingly difficult to capture. A wide angle will get the full canopy but one loses some of the enormity of the trunk and the delightfully twisted growth. A closer view of the trunk loses the mass of branches and some of the wonderful light mottling from the early morning sun. I opted for an in-between crop to keep the light quality but also to try to convey some of the detail on the trunk. The back side of the tree offers some interesting perspectives as well, with some of the branches acting as interesting leading lines. Unfortunately you are not allowed to setup a tripod within the mulched area around the tree so I wasn't able to get a satisfactory shot from behind. This is my last picture from the series I took on recent trip to Charleston/Johns Island/Seabrook Island/Kiawah Island. So many more things I wanted to capture but couldn't get to.
I've been here before with my point-and-shoot but I wanted to get a good quality picture without any other people in the frame. Unfortunately there are lots of signs that can be seen around the base, I would have preferred a more natural look. The tree is in a fenced and guarded park so I arrived promptly at 9am opening so I could get my photo before other tourists encroached on the photo opp. This is also the best light of the day (as the park closes at 5pm, well before sunset).
EDIT: Taking up Tim's recommendation below, I was able to photoshop the signs out making for a more natural-looking pic. I'm still no photoshop expert and I'm sure a forensic photo analyzer would find sure signs of my tampering, but it's close enough for my satisfaction.
Lowcountry Treasure
This is "Angel Oak", a Southern Live Oak tree on Johns Island, South Carolina near Charleston. Its age has been estimated at 400+ years but some estimates put it much older. It is still very much alive in spite of being damaged by hurricanes. The amazing thing about it is the vast canopy from its many twisting branches. The longest branch is 187ft long and its canopy shades an area of 17,200 square feet. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_Oak.
Pictures cannot do justice to what a magnificent tree this is, and I found it surprisingly difficult to capture. A wide angle will get the full canopy but one loses some of the enormity of the trunk and the delightfully twisted growth. A closer view of the trunk loses the mass of branches and some of the wonderful light mottling from the early morning sun. I opted for an in-between crop to keep the light quality but also to try to convey some of the detail on the trunk. The back side of the tree offers some interesting perspectives as well, with some of the branches acting as interesting leading lines. Unfortunately you are not allowed to setup a tripod within the mulched area around the tree so I wasn't able to get a satisfactory shot from behind. This is my last picture from the series I took on recent trip to Charleston/Johns Island/Seabrook Island/Kiawah Island. So many more things I wanted to capture but couldn't get to.
I've been here before with my point-and-shoot but I wanted to get a good quality picture without any other people in the frame. Unfortunately there are lots of signs that can be seen around the base, I would have preferred a more natural look. The tree is in a fenced and guarded park so I arrived promptly at 9am opening so I could get my photo before other tourists encroached on the photo opp. This is also the best light of the day (as the park closes at 5pm, well before sunset).
EDIT: Taking up Tim's recommendation below, I was able to photoshop the signs out making for a more natural-looking pic. I'm still no photoshop expert and I'm sure a forensic photo analyzer would find sure signs of my tampering, but it's close enough for my satisfaction.