Dragon Tree
Jun, 2020Views
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Summer 2020
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in our back yard. This old, now dead, apple tree is such a great sculpture created by Mother Nature...and a tornado years ago that twisted the trunk and broke off some limbs. It continued to bloom, leaf and have apples until just last year.Time
We are surrounded by farm fields with a forest behind those that ends at the cliffs of Georgian Bay. Early summer mornings often have mist laying in layers. It’s really quite magical!Lighting
This view of the tree looks almost directly east. The rising sun shining through the mist creates a lovely light. Sometimes the light is golden, sometimes coral and sometimes, like on this day, it shines pink and purple.Equipment
My Fujifilm X-T2 is my go to camera. As I am often taking closeup photos of flowers, I happened to have my Fuji 60mm macro lens on the camera. I find it also does a lovely job on mid-range shots. This photo was a hand held, no flash photo.Inspiration
I’m in love with all things beautiful and am always inspired to take photos of natural beauty. This apple tree, surviving as it did for so long, just deserves to have loads of photos. We call it the dragon tree and will keep it until it crumbles! We have now planted 5 cherry bushes in a semi circle around it. At some point when the tree has to come down, we will keep the stump, put a table top on it and be able to go sit inside the cherry bushes with a piece of the dragon still with us.Editing
I used Lightroom on my iPad for this, as I do with most of my photos. This one required minimal post-processing. I lightened the image a bit because I didn’t use a flash and it was very early morning with still fairly low light. That helped bring the lovely pinks into focus and really showed off the mist. I sharpened the image just slightly to get some of the tree detail without taking away from the mist.In my camera bag
My bag always has my Fuji X-T2, the maco lens, a wide angle lens, a telephoto lens and the kit lens. If I am hiking or trying to travel light I use my Sony 50x zoom digital camera. It takes lovely photos, is very versatile and surprisingly light.Feedback
Traveling for photos is great, but really get to know the area and neighborhoods around you. I think we stop seeing the beauty and interesting things closest to us simply because they are there all the time. Stop, and look around using the special vision that you use to see a good photo. And then, be prepared! I love taking sunrise photos. But in summer that means being up early (often between 5-5:30) and knowing the signs of a photo worthy sunrise. If you get to know the area around you, you will get to know the signs of a sunrise or sunset or when dew will be on the flowers. My camera bag is always ready, there is always a charged battery. Having said that, this photo, along with many others, is taken while in my pyjamas! Sometimes a sunrise turns spectacular quickly and rarely lasts long...
