Black and white photo of a cluster of Coast Redwood Trees in California. In this photograph I wanted to emphasize the rough texture and strength of the bark of the trees. This cluster of trees seemed like an imperious wall.
With a bark so thick (30 cm!), and being largely impervious to disease, it should be no wonder why Redwood trees achieve their enormous heights and size. However, what they rely upon most is their environment, which is why they are limited to a few regions in California. I think there are many lessons to be learned from our great Redwood trees. No matter how strong, no matter how large of a living being you are, take away the environment on which you rely upon, and you will perish.
This seems like a rather obvious point when it comes to our environment and nature. What about when we apply similar philosophies to art and creativity? I am sure we have all heard it one time or another, in art, and particularly in critique, it pays to have a thick skin. Of course, when pursuing any area of art, there are nutrients, and there are pests. It doesn’t help to have a skin so thick that you don’t let nutrients in. At the same time, you have to be extremely wary of pest invasions. (more…)
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Sword Ferns and Redwoods, Redwoods National park, California
One memorable aspect of a hike in Redwoods National Park was the complete absence of any noise whatsoever. With these towering trees all around you, and the density of the forest, it makes for quite a sound barrier to any rustling, wind, or other noises you might hear in a forest. For me, that is complete tranquility. It was so quiet, it was quite like being inside a sound chamber often used for noise testing, where ambient noise levels are brought down to nearly zero. No sounds of insects buzzing, no leaves rustling, no birds, and no humans. Only once in awhile you would hear water drops falling from the canopy above.
Anyone who has experienced this knows it can be a little unnerving at first. I suppose we are so used to having at least some noise in our lives that it becomes the norm. Take that completely away, and our minds say – “Hey – what’s wrong?”.
Actually, nothing could be more right. You quickly become quite relaxed and begin to really enjoy such conditions. It is amazing how in tune you become then to each water drop that falls, each rustle in the distance. Looking back, I wish we would have just sat there for hours.
I remember when we encountered a group just starting the trail on our way out. They were talking quite loudly, even some yelling – and I remember how I was a bit irritated at that. I wish everyone could appreciate the absence of noise. It is such a rare thing, it should be protected whenever possible. Enjoy the silence.
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Pacific Gateway | Houda Point, Trinidad Bay, California
For anyone who has read this blog for awhile, you already know the love I have for the ocean. As trilling as walking through old growth forests with towering Redwoods was, any time spent on the ocean created a bit of tug-of-war with our time and priorities. This particular beach was discovered by chance, and a bit of direction, indirectly, from California photographer Larry Ulrich. Larry has an informal gallery in Trinidad, California that is part of a gift shop and small cafe. I had no idea Larry actually lived in Trinidad, but was familiar with his name and some of his work. He had some beautiful shots of California’s coastline, some with some great rock formations and sea stacks. A few of these were from a spot called Houda Point that immediately sparked my curiosity.
Well, a bit of Googling and browsing through some guide books showed it was a beach just south of this cafe. The beach isn’t marked with any formal name, we had actually driven past it once before. To find it we had to spot the benches that were described in a guide book, and then find the trail that led down the cliffs. It turned out to be a great beach for exploring. (more…)
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Coast Redwood Tree bark, Roosevelt Grove, Humbolt Redwoods State Park, California
I am still sorting through images I like from our trip out to Northern California. This particular shot was made on the last day. We made one last stop in Humbolt Redwoods State Park hoping for some foggy areas. I was still searching for ideas on ways to convey the enormous size of these trees aside from including people in the shot. I found this little scene where initially I was just attracted to the gorgeous bark on the two large trees on either end. I started out just making close up images of the bark, somewhat abstract.
With a little change in camera position, I also was able to include a smaller tree in between them. The problem I faced was the sun was already quite bright out, and the background was getting quite full of bright spots. I did a 5 exposure blend with this image to be able to capture the entire range, and then cropped the really bright areas off the top. I like the contrast, detail, and color of the bark, it really highlights why these trees are called “Redwoods.” I thought the wider format also emphasized the width of the larger trees. It is still hard to get a feel for exactly how big these trunks are, but at least you know they are big relative to the smaller one! :-)
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Roosevelt Elk herd on Gold Bluffs Beach (Pacific Ocean), Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Redwoods National Park, California
I have to say this was probably one of the stranger things I have ever seen. There are a few areas of Redwoods National Park that are typical grassy meadow habitat, typical elk habitat. The park has a resident herd of Roosevelt Elk that inhabit a few of these meadows. We never did see them in these places. Instead, on the way to another spot along the coast, we had two elk cross the road in front of us. They were going across to join the rest of the herd of 25 on the beach! There were quite a few people around, everyone kept their distance and gave the elk plenty of space to go where they wanted.
Most of the time, they just seemed to be lounging around, eating beach grass, and taking in some rays. I imagined a game of Elk Frisbee was about to start up any minute. That was until…. the Dachshunds showed up. I noticed many of the Northern California beaches are dog friendly, and many people take advantage of that. It just seemed odd these 500-1000 lb animals would be so spooked by a couple of little hot dogs. Perhaps it was just a genuine curiosity. Well, this group in the herd took a definite notice of the dogs being nearby and started marching towards them.
The dogs were also heading right towards me as I knelt in the sand snapping some shots. Now I love dogs, but I draw the line at being trampled just to scratch the little guy’s chin. Fortunately the owners noticed this also and decided it was best they left the beach. Once the dogs left, the elk dispersed again and just started walking leisurely down the beach. Hot dog threat deterred. Situation back to normal. As normal as elk walking down the beach can be…
Odd encounter indeed.
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