Twisted Trees: A Portfolio
There is something about a tree that makes me pull my camera out.
I love photographing trees.
Perhaps it is because the trees have such interesting similarities to humans. There are young trees with delicate limbs, middle-aged trees with hearty trunks and massive limbs, and old trees… some frail, some barely hanging on from season to season.
We were asked to come up to Prescott to do a bit of house-sitting in the mountains, and of course, we jumped at the opportunity. It was averaging 112 in Phoenix and about 85 in the mountains and we take every opportunity to get out of the heat. Even if only for a week.
One day we had some beautiful early morning clouds and glorious light. I grabbed my camera and headed off into the woods in search of twisted trees.
There are Pines and Junipers on the ridge behind the house and the sun was skimming along the brush below. This combination revealed so much texture that I knew I had a subject worth shooting.
The Junipers were gnarled and in distress. The current drought has not been kind to many of our wooded areas in the West.
The colors were drab, so I knew that a monochrome approach would be the best with these conditions. I wanted to see the texture, the light, and the myriad twists and gnarled turns of the trees in my frame.
The exquisite backlight on the trees was filled by the bright, dry grasses and brush all around the little ridge. I was as fascinated by the shadows cast as I was by the textures and shapes of the trees.
The dried and distressed trunks of some of the Juniper were absolutely mesmerizing. And the textures that surrounded them were super busy and incredibly interesting as a background/foreground. A calamitous base for the joyous chaos of the twisted trees.
At. the end of the shoot I had about a dozen shots that really appealed to me. I headed back to the house for a late breakfast and some reading time knowing that I had made some images that would soon be printed and added to my book.
Thanks for reading.
You can find me at www.dongiannatti.com
