Trees by TJ

At long last my 2 week fixation and obsession with trees comes to an end! I drive many miles each week for work and for the last 2 weeks all I have been doing is looking at trees and thinking of the blog photo possibilities. It soon became clear to me that trees in their own right are difficult subjects to photograph, so location, the possibility of having something else in the picture to add effect to the tree, and the time of day all became things to consider. It has been a tough call coming to a final choice, but in the end I am going with my gut instinct and this picture shouted out at me straight away. The riverside location was on the Thames at Medmenham only a couple of minutes from work. This one pretty much came down to the beautiful location, and apart from a small crop to delete a piece of the riverbank in the foreground and a slight tweak to the contrast, this photo is exactly what you get. I was pleased with the way the tree in the forefront kind of creates a spider's web frame hopefully drawing the viewer to it, and as a new friend commented it also draws the viewer across from the left to the right. The river isn't too overstated and then there is the background of wonderful trees in varying sizes and colours. Hopefully there is plenty to see! This has been a tough challenge, but it has really made me to start to think about what I am photographing and the endless opportunities associated with every picture. Of course I see the photo taken by my blonde friend and realise I am going to keep pushing myself with each subject we undertake! :)

The other pictures all had their own merits. The tree at dawn was an almost photo, and one I would like to have another stab at sometime as I just couldn't get the tree quite as I wanted against that gorgeous sky. The moon scene requires more practise and work, but the potential is there. The huge log scene was probably the best shot of got of a plain old tree. I love the archway of trees, although maybe this location just fell short of what I wanted.