Random Thoughts

Sometimes a Tree Fascinates Me /  by Todd Henson

The more time we spend around trees the more opportunities we have to see something interesting. Trees are like people. As much as any two of them may at first look alike, each one is different and unique, and the more time we spend around them the easier it’ll be to see and appreciate these differences. Today, though, I’m not thinking so much of those subtle differences you really have to look for, but instead I’m thinking about those trees that immediately stand out as different.

How did it grow this way?

The tree in the photo above is an example. How did it grow this way? It’s almost as if it were intentionally growing into a large bench for tired and adventurous hikers to rest on. Was there perhaps something below it when it first started growing, and now whatever that was is gone leaving this unusual horizontal growth and a second trunk growing vertically from it? And look at that little knee joint at the corner. I do like how you can see some of the large roots growing out below the second trunk seemingly to give more support and balance. This is a good sized tree so there’s a lot of weight in the second trunk.

Creekside tree

I’m often drawn to trees that grow along the bank of a creek. Frequently, you can see more of the root system and sometimes the trunks will grow in different ways. In the case of the tree above it’s not all that strange or unusual but I still find myself drawn to it, along with the fallen tree resting horizontally above the water.

Coming together

In the photo above we see two trunks coming back together, fuzed into one another. I didn’t think to photograph the tree at ground level to see if perhaps it’s a single tree that splits into multiple trunks. Either way, though, I found it interesting how one trunk branches out and then somehow attaches itself to and merges with another trunk.

The Troll

And I’ll leave it up to you to determine what you see, if anything, in the photo above. Trees often develop growths and sometimes they take on shapes that resemble other things, similar to clouds or rock formations. I don’t currently know what causes these growths. My guess would be they are similar to cancer in humans, but I’ve yet to do any research on the topic. If you happen to know please comment below.

So all these examples are my long-winded way of saying, sometimes a tree fascinates me. 😀

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Considering Composition for a Wild Geranium /  by Todd Henson

Finding a pleasing composition can take some effort. There are so many options, so many ways of arranging all the elements in the frame even when photographing only what nature provides. You can choose what to include, what to exclude, what angle to use, how close or far from the subject. Sometimes a single composition immediately stands out, you just know that’s how you want your photograph to look. But other times it can be more challenging.

Today’s images present an example of a scene that I struggled with. There was a beautiful pink wild geranium against some lovely green leaves. Simple, right? Why would something like this present a challenge?

I consider the first image I made the opening scene. It contains all the elements, but I didn’t necessarily put a lot of thought into it yet, beyond capturing this lovely flower.

1 - Wild geranium and green

Then I wondered if maybe I was showing a little too much greenery. Perhaps I could move the camera a little closer to the flower, or crop the image after the fact. The flower is centered, there’s lots of green leaves on the left and just a little hint of leaves to the right. As an interesting side note, I don’t believe the leaves on the left are those of the geranium, but I believe those on the right are.

2 - A centered wild geranium

Was I still showing too much? Was that little bit of vine-like growth on the leaf to the left adding anything to the composition or distracting from it? Would zooming in a bit more create a more pleasing image? How about moving the flower just a bit to the left so it wasn’t dead center? Maybe I should have found a way to move it even more to the left (or to the right)?

3 - Slightly off-centered wild geranium

Then I realized the flower and that small leaf beside it might be an interesting combination, so I recomposed to line up both of these. The depth of field was fairly shallow so I didn’t get both of them perfectly in focus, but I thought the composition was interesting.

4 - Wild geranium aligned with a leaf

What would happen if I simply flipped the image on its side with the leaf down below and the flower up top? This gives a slightly different feel than the horizontal arrangement.

5 - Wild geranium vertical

I don’t have any good answers for you this time. I didn’t end up with a single composition that stood out to me far more than the others. Instead there were several that I found interesting but I still don’t know exactly how I feel about any of them. That’s one reason why it often helps to let photos sit for a while. But I figured this time instead of doing that I’d share some of the thoughts I go through when composing some of my photographs. Sometimes they are very conscious thoughts as I compose but other times they are more a flow of feeling as I explore without really thinking.

What do you think? Does one of these stand out to you more than the others? Do none of them work for you? Can you think of other compositions you might have tried given what you’re able to see of the scene?

Regardless of any of that, though, I hope you enjoyed seeing what I find to be a very beautiful wild flower that blooms around here in the spring. I found this one in Prince William Forest Park on May 12th of 2022.

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Beginning of Spring in Shenandoah National Park /  by Todd Henson

Mountains as seen from Skyline Drive

I realized this year how great a location the mountains can be for observing the signs of seasonal transitions. My folks and I were on a day trip and decided to drive over part of Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park. This is the north-south road through the park and provides lots of views of the mountains and down into the valleys. We picked a fortunate time to visit in early spring when most of the trees at higher elevations were bare but at lower elevations you could see lines of color of new leaf growth. I would love to see a time lapse movie of this process as the new green growth moves its way up the sides of the mountains.

New leaf growth moving up the mountains

An alternate, vertical, view of the first image showing the new green growth moving up the slopes

I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief observation of the transition from winter to spring.

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