Tag: trees

7 Day Nature Challenge – pt 3

Trees keep our history and tell…

I was nominated by a fellow blogger, Stella of  Giggles & Tales, for a 7-Day Nature Photo Challenge.  Stella’s blog is always full of interesting posts, which are a blend of poetry, photography and perspectives on the world around her.  Go check her blog out!!

On this second day of Spring, I want to bring you something a bit more abstract…

Re-Radiate_MG_9469-Orig
Re-Radiate

This shot came from a trip to one of my favorite places: Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, MA.  As happens quite often, my mind starts looking for something a little different to shoot,  which is where this shot came from.

Re-Radiate is all about recognizing the power that resides in trees.  Trees store up energy and release it back to us, denizens of the planet Earth.  In the process of doing this, they learn about what goes on in the world around them and store up a history of their environment.  If we listen carefully, they may even tell us about it…

Technical Details

This image was captured with a Canon EOS 5D Mk II using an EF 24-105mm f/4L lens.  Exposure settings were 1/3 second with f/18 at 160 ISO.  A zoom blur technique was used to get the effect in this image.

The Rules

Post a #naturephoto every day and nominate another blogger for this challenge.

Nomination

The challenge of nominating a fellow blogger…  1/100 Sekundy‘s Jolanta runs a blog full of amazing photography!  Go check out this talented photographer’s blog!  If she accepts this challenge, I look forward to the results!

Adieu to Sweet Winter…

We will miss your snowy blankets

This year’s Winter paled in comparison to our previous encounter with the cooler season.  Instead of record snow fall, we had just a couple of minor storms and the ground has been bare, waiting for Spring’s arrival.

So I thought that I’d share an image from last year, March 15, 2015…

2015-03-15 10.59.15 HDR-1
Winter’s Beauty

Last year, our beloved Yoga Tree stood gracefully in the snowy landscape.  This was after a relatively minor snowfall, compared to the events of that Winter season, which saw a total snow fall of 110.6 inches (2.80 meters).

Enjoy this moment, as we look toward the warm days of Spring!

Technical Details

Photographed with my iPhone 5S using the standard Camera app and minor Instagram enhancements.

Quotes of Worth – vol 2

Deep knowledge resides in trees

Wisdom-of-the-Trees
Wisdom of the Trees
“For me, trees have always been the most penetrating preachers. I revere them when they live in tribes and families, in forests and groves. And even more I revere them when they stand alone. They are like lonely persons. Not like hermits who have stolen away out of some weakness, but like great, solitary men, like Beethoven and Nietzsche. In their highest boughs the world rustles, their roots rest in infinity; but they do not lose themselves there, they struggle with all the force of their lives for one thing only: to fullfil themselves according to their own laws, to build up their own form, to represent themselves. Nothing is holier, nothing is more exemplary than a beautiful, strong tree. When a tree is cut down and reveals its naked death-wound to the sun, one can read its whole history in the luminous, inscribed disk of its trunk: in the rings of its years, its scars, all the struggle, all the suffering, all the sickness, all the happiness and prosperity stand truly written, the narrow years and the luxurious years, the attacks withstood, the storms endured. And every young farmboy knows that the hardest and noblest wood has the narrowest rings, that high on the mountains and in continuing danger the most indestructible, the strongest, the ideal trees grow.
 
Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. They do not preach learning and precepts, they preach, undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life."

Herman Hesse
- Bäume. Betrachtungen und Gedichte

WPC – Seasons (Autumn)

Autumnal beauty peeks through

Yogatree-2015-10-21 08.07.30 HDR-1
Steeped in Color

Autumn is the season of beauty in New England, as color abounds across the landscape and cool days provide a reprieve from the Summer heat.  Skies bring restorative rains, as the final bit of growth occurs in the fields that are readying for harvest time.

The Yoga Tree is not one for garish displays, as she prefers the subtle muted tones that she is beginning to display here.  Over the following weeks, she will shed her remaining leaves and retreat into the inner strength that servers her well for the upcoming season of Winter.

Hope you enjoy this final image in the set of seasons.

In response to Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge – Seasons

WPC – Seasons (Summer)

Protectress of the Fields

Yogatree-2015-07-16 07.22.56 HDR-1
Stately in Summer

During the hot days of Summer, this proud Lady of the Fields stands coolly among the verdant landscape that surrounds her.  The fields are full of vibrant energy, as the corn is beginning to come up, and the trees in the distance are full of green life.

The Yoga Tree may disguise her form during these months, as she uses the abundance of the Sun’s energy to replenish her stores for the upcoming seasons, but her spirit radiates from every fiber of her being.  She stands as a proud protectress of the fields, where the farmers toil to produce the season’s crop.

Hope you enjoy… tomorrow, we go toward Autumn!

In response to Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge – Seasons

Winter Morning Solitude

Winter’s kind embrace

2016-02-10-07.53.31-10x10
Winter Morning Solitude

Winter is one of my favorite seasons, as it has this great ability to reduce the color palette of the world around us.  Additionally, winter tends to quiet the environment, in which we find ourselves, particularly during or shortly after a fresh snow.

Thus, Winter is a great enabler for getting landscapes that are stark with a sense of being alone, no world intruding upon our moment in the space-time continuum.  Such a moment I captured this week in this image.  A Sun that is highly filtered by the gray sky, a grouping of trees and an expanse of snow covered field with a single set of tracks.

Yoga Tree in Autumn

She’s wearing a coat of many colors…

I may just have to do a series of posts of the Yoga Tree in her various seasonal outfits; I’ll have to think how I want to organize it, but for now…here’s a little taste!

Photo Oct 28, 7 17 17 AM
Yoga Tree in Autumn

As you can tell from this image, she’s progressing in dropping her leaves, which have beautiful shades of color at this time of year.  It’s almost, as if she is stretching out of a slumber that was induced by the blanket of leaves that she carried during the Spring and Summer months.

Looking forward to hearing what you think of this image!

Just for one day

Perseverance is in order as we move forward each day

Persistence-Tree_14E6659_8_5_6_7-tumblr
Persistence

It’s time to start bringing the mood up again from yesterday’s level of somber.

After a day of reflection, I decided to learn to play ‘Heroes’ on guitar; as always, playing guitar was a great way to unwind, and, while I may still be a novice, each imperfect rendition of a song feels like an accomplishment.

Learning to play the guitar is all about persistence, learning a bit at a time and slowly improving until even you, the student, can no longer deny that you have learned something.  It is about building up calluses, muscle memory, dexterity, strength and will power.  One item that you will not see in that list is something that is sizable part of my day job in high-tech: stress!  

For me, stress doesn’t come from unrealistically short timetables, or work load, but, rather, it comes from the inflexibility within organizations to recognize that new technology requires well-conceived, novel approaches that are founded in the laws of physics.  Challenge is great and welcome; rusty, stumbling blocks should be removed.

Today’s image is one that I captured just over five years ago, not far from my home.

My approach tends to be to allow myself to be guided by a sense of connection to the universe and its every component that surrounds me by staying in the moment; combining this sense with a healthy dose of observation helps me find things of interest.  Walking into the field, the first thing that caught my attention were the lines that presented themselves: horizontals, verticals and the slight diagonals in the sky.

Add the color palette with the warm tones of autumn and the cooler sky tones, and I felt drawn set up for a shot that has had me coming back to it over the years.

The tree’s exemplary stance against the elements brought the concept of ‘Persistence’ to mind, which I felt would be an appropriate title for this image.

Shot of the Week – vol. 1

A weekly feature that highlights a photo taken during the past week.

20160108-YogaTree2016-01-08 07.39.28 HDR
Yoga Tree Admires Winter’s Sunrise

The first ‘Shot of the Week‘ features a subject that is no stranger to followers, as I photograph the Yoga Tree quite often.

During my daily commute this Friday morning, I noticed that the sky had an interesting cloud cover, which might produce a good backdrop for the Yoga Tree, so I went for a little detour.  When I got there, the sky did definitely not disappoint, as the sunlight’s reflection off the underside of some of the clouds provided beautiful structure.

A quick look at the tableau helped me make up my mind on composition and relative positioning of the key elements in this image.  My decision was to play a little bit loose with the rule of thirds, so that the rising sun would end up more as a pleasant surprise rather than a key element. The Yoga Tree will always be a main subject in this image, but with the amount of light in the upper left quadrant, I knew that the eye would go there and cause tension, if allowed to compete with the rising sun.

When examining the radiance of the sunrise, I did realize that it could have been the main subject, all by itself.  However, my love of trees would never allow me to ignore the Yoga Tree; also, I didn’t have a lens with me to frame the right shot of the sunrise, which helps with decision making!

All in all, I am pleased with capturing this moment during the past week, and I am curious to hear your thoughts about this image, as well as what images you may have captured.

P.S. this is the first post in a series that I plan to feature on Sundays this year.  I love to get your feedback on it, as it progresses during the year.