Kapok
This is an experimental shot of my favorite tree in the world: an old, HUGE kapok tree in Bermuda. I have taken many shots of this giant that lives in a hidden ...
Read more
This is an experimental shot of my favorite tree in the world: an old, HUGE kapok tree in Bermuda. I have taken many shots of this giant that lives in a hidden corner of the Botanical Gardens, but I always found it did not convey how big it really is. On this day the sun was behind the tree and I was playing with my zoom-lens. I chose as long a shutter time as possible and while making the shot on my tripod I quickly zoomed from close-up to wide. I was quite thrilled with te result! Did not have to do any editing, except for the usual (sharpening, slight adjustments in exposure etc.)
Read less
Read less
May, 2015Views
433
Likes
Awards
Outstanding Creativity
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Magnificent Capture
Peer Award
All Star
Superior Skill
Love it
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 30 rankTop 20 rank week 1
Top 20 rank
Categories
jimgumm
May 17, 2015
Mystical place and tree - expect to hear a pronouncement from on high at any moment - great work
TwoGreenEyes
July 06, 2015
I go there whenever I am able to visit Bermuda! There is some serious soul presence in this tree! I saw one on Curacao one day and it too had a lot of mystery. But the Bermuda one is still my fave!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in the Botanical Gardens on the islands of Bermuda.Time
The photo was taken around 2.30pmLighting
The subject was backlit by early afternoon sun and the front of the trunk was just barely catching any light - This allowed for a combination of a longer exposure time and a technique where you turn the barrel of the lens during the shot.Equipment
Canon 5D, MK II, on tripod, 24-105mm F/4 lensInspiration
This was an unexpectedly wonderful result of an experimental shot. The idea comes from one of my favourite photographers, Bryan Peterson, who uses it for colourful scenes that are, in and of itself, not particularly interesting or photogenic. This tree always frustrated me during the 3 years I was privileged to live and work on the islands of Bermuda in the Atlantic Ocean. It is located in a remote corner of Bermuda's Botanical Gardens. It is huge - the only way to get it into 1 picture is with extreme wide-angle lenses such as 14mm or even less focal length. But this would 'just' result in a picture of a tree - distorted at that. The sun does not hit it "just right", whatever the time of the day is. I have lots of pictures of details of the tree, I have even added pre-school kids to it while trying to convey its true size, but the pictures never translated what I felt whenever I was at its location. So this time, in September 2013 when I was back for a visit, feeling bored and frustrated with the scene, it suddenly occured to me to try this experiment. I had my tripod with me, I had an old f4 Canon lens (24-105mm) and I was with a friend who was interested in photography. I set up the tripod, made sure it was stable and practiced turning the lens barrel both ways, to see if I would be fast enough to pull this off. Then I took some test shots and it became instantly clear to me that the results could be quite spectacular provided I did not introduce motion blur due to the manipulation of the lens barrel. I seem to remember starting on 24mm and zooming in, but it might have been the other way around. I did it both ways and this was the best shot of the series, with the sunbeams peeking through on both sides of the canopy. My friend tried it with her camera as well, and although her shots are great as well, she was somewhat more limited because of the smaller zoomrange. If I ever go back to this tree or see a similar one somewhere else, I will try this with a blackout filter so that I have more time to turn the barrel and I would probably try it with different lenses as well. This technique produces unique shots for every singe time you take the picture and as such it is an original that cannot be duplicated. I have used this technique in many places and still have fun doing it, in nature, in big cities, and even with people.Editing
Practically none. The shot as you see it here was just sharpened and white balance and colour balance were adjusted a little bit to emphasize the greens.In my camera bag
I used to travel around lugging the heavy Canon professional gear but these days I am a big fan of the mirrorless cameras. Currently, I am working with a Fuji X-T2 and I am delighted by how much more creativity I can now include in my shots. It is feather light, it is quick and if you are willing to invest in some extra batteries, you can get beautiful results. Its performance in low light conditions in stunning - cannot compete with Canon.... The days of "hoping for the best", even after seeing a shot on the camera's display, are over. Mirrorless cameras allow me to focus on composition and subject, instead of pondering about the best technical settings. I would recommend it to all photobugs. The electronic viewfinder Fuji offers is awesome and it will instantly reflect your setting changes. No more will you think you have a great exposure, only to find it grainy and over or under exposed while inspecting it on the computer. These are new times for all of us who love to use cameras! My other favourite tools of the trade are unchanged: a black out filter by Lee (ND +10), a set of graduated ND filters to deal with extreme light differences in a scene and my remote flash and camera triggers. I have a Cactus flashcanon and a big Canon flash and both work excellently with my new mirrorless. I also don't leave the house without a tripod in my car.Feedback
Learn the manual of your camera and other gear inside out. Really. Know what your camera can do and how it does it. Use your camera every single day so that operating it with expected results becomes a reflex. In these digital times it is no longer expensive to do photography. Just trash the shots that were no good. Each shot is a lesson. And be practical: in my early years, I got into the habit of organising my gear in my backpack and making notes in a little pocket book so that I could look up where things were. I still do this today. Not because I have bad memory (but I do...), but mainly because when a scene unfolds in front of me that I just have to photograph, it is as if I suddenly have a frantic fever and want to move fast. There is nothing worse than having to search for your stuff in the dark, while the light leaves the scene and you never get to take the shot. These days, I store that information in an app on my phone, searching becomes even easier that way. Also: when you stumble upon a location by accident, and your camera does not store GPS information, take a cell phone picture. Not only will you be able to find your way back to the same location at another time, it also replaces a separate flashlight, as most cell phones these day have that included. For me, photography is all about good preparation, so that I have more time for the actual scene and just to let the creativity flow. Light sometimes only exists for seconds and you do not want to spend that time with your nose in your camera's menu or fumbling with your gear.
