Random Thoughts

Traces in the Tree /  by Todd Henson

Nature’s Circuit Traces

Today’s post is less about creating great photography and more about the fascinating things you can find while photographing in nature. I’ve titled the two photos in this post Nature’s Circuit Traces and Traces in the Tree. Technically, they’re not actually traces, but I call them that because I think they resemble the electronic traces on printed circuit boards. But what are they really?

These interesting patterns are caused by beetles boring their way through the tree creating what are often called beetle galleries. I’ve no clue what species created these galleries but I find them fascinating. In this particular case it appears something long ago split the bark along the tree revealing these galleries that I assume were once hidden under bark.

Traces in the Tree

Earlier this year another photographer, Steven Schwartzman, shared photos of some beetle galleries he’d found in Texas. It’s interesting to compare the patterns he found with these and see how similar and yet different they are. Granted, they may have been created by different species of beetles.

Steven also shared a link to a great article describing beetle galleries.

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Texture: Tree and Stone /  by Todd Henson

Exploring textures of tree and stone

What is it that draws our eye to a scene, that leads us to believe there may be the potential for a photograph? It can be any of an almost unlimited list of things, and we’re each different so that list might differ by person. But one item in many of those lists might be texture.

My father and I were hiking along a new trail in a familiar park, taking in the scenery that was new to us, enjoying this little bit of exploration. This particular trail was changing elevation more than some, and the trail was a bit narrow in places. Thankfully, we were almost completely alone. In fact, we only once ran into anyone else, and strangely enough we ran into each other from opposite directions but both decided we’d gone as far as we wanted for that day, so we all said hello and goodbye and turned around heading back the way we’d come.

At some point I’d noticed something out of the corner of my eye, just a little ways off the trail. It was a set of huge lichen encrusted boulders with a small tree growing right up against them. I can’t say exactly what it was that initially drew my eye to this, but when I saw the scene I knew it had potential, and I knew some of that potential involved the fascinating textures of the tree and stone.

I don’t know if this particular image realizes the potential of the scene, but it gives an idea of what I was seeing and thinking at the time. There was a large background boulder with lots of green moss or lichen growing all over it. Closer in was a boulder, also with some lichen, but the stone had a bluer cast to it. And finally, there was the tree growing against the boulder, as if hanging out with a friend. It was also covered in lichen.

Each of these elements has different textures, and yet there is some similarity as well. And I think that’s part of what drew my eye without me realizing it at first. I saw some patterns, and when looking closer I saw textures that melded into one another but also had their own unique characteristics. And I wanted to capture that.

I suppose I’d consider this a photographic sketch, similar to what I’d mentioned in a previous post about exploring a stretch of creek. Sketches are when I’m exploring a scene, when I know something’s there but maybe I’m not quite in the right mind yet to figure out exactly what that is. I will usually try to take a step back and photograph the larger area to give me more context when looking back at the images, but in this case I didn’t do that. I probably should have. But even so, this image is enough to push me to return to that part of the trail, to try to find this scene again, and to spend a little more time exploring its possibilities.

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Photobombing a Nesting Osprey /  by Todd Henson

A small insect photobombs a nesting osprey.

Some things just don’t seem wise to photobomb, and a nesting osprey, in my mind, is one of those things. But apparently this little lone insect didn’t share my hesitation, as it had no problem photobombing this osprey sitting atop its nest, feathers on the back of its head slightly raised in the breeze.

Obviously this was a completely unplanned photograph. But I’m always happy when I notice these pleasant surprises while going through images on the computer. Spend enough time out there and you’re bound to find something interesting or different every so often.

Zooming in to get a closer look at the osprey photobomb.

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