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Peak

Peak



The Famous Maple bursts with color for a couple of days every fall - and photographers line up for an opportunity to photograph it. It's particularly great timi...
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The Famous Maple bursts with color for a couple of days every fall - and photographers line up for an opportunity to photograph it. It's particularly great timing if you can catch it both at peak and while there are leaves on the moss below. I had come this particular day to photograph The Tree with my medium format camera, and snapped this as a whim. I'd forgotten about the file for a year - I found it in my archives and said to myself, "Not too shabby!" I love this tree so much it is literally tattooed on my arm. True story.
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cameraPENTAX K20D

settings Aperture f/4.5 ISO 200 Shutter 3/10 

upload_dateMay, 2014

Views

2834

Likes

Awards

Contest Finalist in Unedited Photo Contest Vol3
Featured
Winner in Autumn's Splendor Photo Challenge
Winner in AMAZING TREES Photo Challenge
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Peer Award
dewaynerawlings josfrias frankrehm_8004 ManojM austinbens clotanguay Dgp68 +104
Absolute Masterpiece
KathyPhotos WBVPhotography FireyLady carolinecournoyergalt LuMace sterretje joysquires +63
Superb Composition
melissaknapp alfredoborghi chrisfarrington AnjelEyePhotos ertansiddiqui DaveCornelison scottsinclair +52
Top Choice
dannyboyfraser edandaniphone umauvonstoetteritz acdalton09 ricklecompte lizbartholomew RachelNiquette +30
Outstanding Creativity
ppls6 Kalaharikid Rgmoore_photography Diogo_Pereira Ritsikas66 GGwathney marianarauta +8
Magnificent Capture
Montethephotographer rainyriver caseykell21 angeladignasbravin timbrown_2748 livingourlife trexkamal +6
All Star
FeatherstonePhotography thatunicorngal StephenSPotterPhoto Samborough DELETED_GaryCummins MeTooTimesTwo DebbieKMiller81 +1
Superior Skill
kathyzeckser doglead KlaraSturm vitorsantos_9001 leeryde xxxxxxxxyyyyy
Genius
MichaeljMansell AdelinaVizoso JackSciclunaPhotography
Virtuoso
patticassidy

Emotions

Impressed
Take2Foto hollyh kclofty alfredoborghi alessiodimeo

Top ClassTM

The Beauty Of Autumn Photo Contest 2020Top 10 class
The Beauty Of Autumn Photo Contest 2019Top 10 class
Change Of Seasons Photo ContestTop 10 class
Change Of Seasons Photo ContestTop 10 class week 1
The Beauty Of Fall Photo Contest 2018Top 10 class
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The Beauty Of Fall Photo Contest 2018Top 10 class week 2
The Beauty Of Fall Photo Contest 2018Top 10 class week 1
It Is Red Photo ContestTop 10 class
Fall 2017 Photo ContestTop 10 class
Fall 2017 Photo ContestTop 10 class week 1
Parks And Gardens Photo ContestTop 10 class
Parks And Gardens Photo ContestTop 10 class week 2
Parks And Gardens Photo ContestTop 10 class week 1
Unedited Photo Contest Vol3Top 10 class
Unedited Photo Contest Vol3Top 10 class week 1
Twisted Photo ContestTop 10 class
Twisted Photo ContestTop 10 class week 2
Twisted Photo ContestTop 10 class week 1
Fall 2016 Photo ContestTop 20 class
Fall 2016 Photo ContestTop 10 class week 1
Fabulous Foliage Photo ContestTop 10 class
Fabulous Foliage Photo ContestTop 10 class week 1
Art in Nature Photo ContestTop 10 class
Art in Nature Photo ContestTop 10 class week 2
Art in Nature Photo ContestTop 10 class week 1
I Love Trees Photo ContestTop 10 class
I Love Trees Photo ContestTop 10 class week 1
The Four Seasons Photo ContestTop 10 class
Shades Of Orange Photo ContestTop 10 class
Shades Of Orange Photo ContestTop 10 class week 1
ViewBug Image of the Year Photo ContestTop 20 class
ViewBug Image of the Year Photo ContestTop 10 class week 6
ViewBug Image of the Year Photo ContestTop 30 class week 5
ViewBug Image of the Year Photo ContestTop 20 class week 2
Gardens Photo ContestTop 10 class
Gardens Photo ContestTop 20 class week 1

Categories

15 Comments | Report
CLG_
 
CLG_ June 19, 2016
Gorgeous!
karensommerslohre PRO+
 
karensommerslohre September 16, 2016
Congratulations! I have chosen you as my Winner of my AMAZING TREES Challenge~Your photo is just wonderful!
JennaVee Premium
JennaVee September 17, 2016
Thank you! :D
KARENLEIGH
 
KARENLEIGH September 16, 2016
gorgeous
ewill
 
ewill September 16, 2016
Beautiful capture Jenna, well done
Desolation
 
Desolation September 17, 2016
Amazing!
p_eileenbaltz
 
p_eileenbaltz September 17, 2016
Spectacular!!! Congratulations. :)
DebbieKMiller81 PRO+
 
DebbieKMiller81 November 29, 2016
Beautiful shot. Love the contrast.
johnyd
 
johnyd November 30, 2016
I love the jagged shapes of the limbs
nasktari23
 
nasktari23 November 30, 2016
I pretty much have this painting on my wall! I will have to visit! Amazing job.
JennaVee Premium
JennaVee December 01, 2016
I love this tree so much I have it tattooed on me. True story.
cyrillinegoodman
 
cyrillinegoodman December 06, 2016
Beautiful Capture!
Forrest_Imagery
 
Forrest_Imagery March 01, 2017
An outstanding shot, full of exquisitely rich colors, textures and forms.
It is excellently composed and lit with superb contrast, luminosity and (de)saturation applied in post-processing.

Congratulations on such a fine image, your many, well-deserved awards and the phenomenal gallery of yours where it is found.
JennaVee Premium
JennaVee March 02, 2017
Thank you so much!
Safetygal PRO
 
Safetygal May 12, 2017
Magnificent color!! Such a stunning piece - great capture!
hongw
 
hongw May 13, 2017
Fantastic.
Santa_Martha
 
Santa_Martha February 14, 2018
Your foto is just wonderful.Congratulations
alfredoborghi
 
alfredoborghi December 07, 2020
Just wonderful.

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

#Japanese Maple #Portland Japanese Garden #The Tree #fall

Behind The Lens

Location
This is the "famous" Japanese Maple in the Portland Japanese Garden, in Portland, Oregon. During the fall, photographers literally line up to shoot this tree.
Time
This was early on a fall morning; I had a photography membership to the Garden so I could get in early and have better access. (A photography membership has many benefits, but getting in before opening is a high-point.) Later in the day the grounds keepers clean up the leaves, so you have to get there early in the morning to catch the full blanket on the moss.
Lighting
The light was soft from fog and clouds, so this didn't need anything except a slightly longer exposure to get details.
Equipment
This is the embarrassing and honest truth: I loaded up my trusty old Nikon F5 with Velvia 50, and my Mamiya RB67 with Velvia, and just grabbed a digital camera for some instant gratification. It was a Pentax K20D with a kit lens, the 18-35. I had just gotten back into photography and didn't have a lot of gear (this was back in 2009) that wasn't film. After some shots on film, and aware I had a dozen photographers behind me all antsy to get their turn, I quickly threw the K20D on the tripod for a few exposures before wandering around to see the rest of the garden. No flash, nothing fancy at all. I didn't even realize it was in jpg from a studio shoot the night before, I was so rushed to fire off a few more shots.
Inspiration
I have tried every year since moving to Portland to get MY photo of this tree. I have hundreds of photos - some are amazing, some are awful. It's a challenging subject because it's so popular - and there are only a couple of vantage points from which to shoot it. The only differences you can achieve are trying out different films or techniques, different focal lengths, different times of day or lighting conditions. It's a challenge to go look at the tree and say, "How can I best photograph this tree today?" This tree is really an old friend to a lot of local photographers.
Editing
This was actually shot as a jpg - the only post processing was to desaturate the greens a bit, because they were just SO intense. I see a lot of people comment on photos of this tree that the photographer must have saturated it, must have cheated in Photoshop, but this tree is naturally stunning and intense in person, period. It needs no adjustments, except occasionally to tone it down so viewers will believe it's real. Or maybe the magic is in how unreal this very incredible tree is in reality.
In my camera bag
Today, I carry a D800 and a back up D700, my trusty and abused 50mm 1.4, a 20mm 2.8 for landscapes, my SB900 flash, a CPL, a 6 stop ND filter. Lots of memory cards, back up batteries, a Snickers bar, a bottle of water. For events I add in a 70-200 2.8, a spare flash, and my tripod, and a reflector, and sometimes Alien Bees and triggers.
Feedback
This tree is fairly unchanging - it grows slowly and is shaped by the master gardeners. The world around it changes daily, sometimes minute to minute. You really have to stalk a subject like this, shooting it again and again, looking at it in different lighting conditions, different times of day, different seasons, sometimes even on partially cloudy days it can go from bright to overcast in a moment, changing the scene entirely. You have to be quick to adjust your settings, patient, and persistent. And a little lucky, too.

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