I’ve recently been learning about the native trees we have in New Zealand and it’s sparked my interest to present them in all their glory.
This is a northern Rata, starting it’s life high in the nooks of a ‘host’ tree, it sends down twisted roots
which over considerable time thicken out and interlock to form its own trunk which supports the tree after the host has likely died and decomposed. To go full circle, mature Northern Rata become hosts for countless other epiphytes, predominantly the long leafed Kahakaha as well as many mosses and ferns.
I’m going to try re-shoot this in a couple months when it’s flowering.
This is a nice image of some trees with a lot of character. Your description of them is more intriguing than the image IMO. This shot, as nice as it is, doesn’t tell the visual story as well as the written description.
When you go back, focus on shooting the story as you described it. I’d love to see the juxtaposition of the old dead tree and a living tree connected together. If you were shooting this on assignment, per your description, would this work?
The image is really nice as is. I love images like this.
Hi Michael,
I think this is a very nice and fascinating image, with a lot of interesting detail. I imagine it would look great as a large-format print. On a PC screen, some of the interesting detail appears small because of the large field of view. By cropping the image, one could feature some of this detail a bit more prominent, like the epiphytes growing on the trees. I am attaching an example. The nature of the image would still be similar. Anyway, very nice work!
I will freely admit that looking at the small image, I was not expecting much, but I love the large image. This kind of image is hard to compose, but I think this is great. Everything seems to radiate out from the bottom middle. @Bradley_Strong and @Michael_McGee raise some interesting points but I love the image as is.
I know I love this image as soon as I see the thumbnail. It is almost like looking at fractals. As for the description, I think it takes more than an image to tell the entire story. This doesn’t necessarily tell the twisted root story. But I can definitely see the rata and also the epiphytes including the Kahakaha and the mosses. So there’s that part of the story being told. I am looking forward to seeing the image when it is blooming.
@Bradley_Strong Yeah I’m totally with you on that. I’d love to create a compelling image with the twisted, interlocking trunk as the subject but it’s so hard! I’ll absolutely keep trying. @Ruben_Kretzschmar Yes I agree that the detail is definitely lost on a screen and needs to be viewed as a large print to be properly appreciated. You might be right in that providing a cropped version like yours for web might be a more effective way of presenting the subject. Very interesting how viewing formats completely change the understanding and perception on an image! @Michael_Lowe Thanks Michael! @Adhika_Lie Thanks man! Your comment about fractals really resonates and I’m glad to hear that’s what my image made you think of! My understanding of fractals and what I try to communicate through many of my images is a visualization of the infinite and the inconceivable nature of the concept. It might sound silly but seriously thinking about this stuff is what gets me up in the morning. I won’t try do it justice with words, I’ll try take better photos instead
I think it’s a beautiful photo with so many interesting details going on in this particular composition.
I think that, with the background information, this subject would make a great series with this very photo maybe as leading image?
I would also try to add somekind of vignetting to keep the eyes from wandering of to the sides of the photo.
