I came across these two trees, of entirely different families (birch and fir), growing so close together they almost seemed to be one. I tried to capture that relationship and when I downloaded this photograph, became fascinated by the dark area between them. It is where the distinction between the one and the other appears to dissolve and, like two lovers, each seems to emerge out of the other.
For this kind of detailed image, I’m trying for the look of an etching that begins to push it towards abstraction. As usual, I’d be interested in the extent to which this image has any emotional impact.
Is this a composite: No
Very unique tree image, Kerry. Love the scratchiness on the birch and the small plates on the fir you’ve captured. So many lovely subtle hues: golds, grays, greens, blue, violet tones. Really enjoy the different lines textures and bark colors, even the the moss grows different on the two species. Great viewing in the large format. You selected an excellent area for the shot.
Kerry,
This couple is very interesting and a great find on your part. I think you did a nice job in achieving the “etched” look . As @Stephen_Stanton mentioned, this looks better the larger you view it.
It’s interesting you interpreted this as “lovers”. I could also see this as a struggle for survival, for space to grow and life giving sunlight. Interpretation seems to reveal as much about the viewer as the subject.
I’m not sure I have a very strong emotional reaction to this, but that doesn’t prevent it from having a lot of impact. My reaction to this image is more of an intellectual engagement, and that’s fine too. It has an interesting sense of ying yang duality to it. Dark/Light, lots of lichen/sparse lichen, big texture/small texture. And as you said, the boundary between that helps define the duality. This is a very effective use of a 50/50 composition, which also reinforces the duality. I like it for these aspects, and for me that’s more than enough.
