Tree appear in pictures all the time. They show up as green blurs in the backgrounds of portraits and as bit players in sweeping landscapes. But, for our January Photo Challenge, we dared our readers to make trees the stars of the show. The entries were every bit as epic as you’d expect.
The entries range from vast panoramas to intimate tree portraits, all of which have their own style and charm.
If you’re looking for inspiration to help you make your own tree photography, check out these tips from a pro. Then, head over to our contest page to show off your own work.
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Beauty in a dead tree
By Danny Rockvam This was my first attempt at doing star trails with light painting my favorite dead tree as a foreground. I combined multiple 30 second exposures useing starstax software and then made minor adjustments to the color and removed pixel hot spots using photoshop cs6. I was hoping for about two hours of combined exposure but the clouds started rolling in after about 40 minutes.
Olive Trees Under Milky Way
By Ivan Galic Olive trees at island Solta, Croatia
I stand alone
By paula Schultz This was taken at Bald Rock, Ca There are many unique formations atop Bald Rock as well as grinding holes worn in the rock by former Native American residents who ground acorns there. The Maidu have a legend of a monster called Uino who protects the middle fork of the Feather River from his dwelling atop Bald Rock. Bald Rock is a granite batholith located in Butte County, California, in the Plumas National Forest
Pointing to the Stars
By Jay Mondkar This was a test shot (for exposure) taken right before I started a four hour timelapse. It just so happened that a plane was going across the frame for the 25 second exposure. No cropping – it really centered perfectly. It was a great way to start what ended up being a really nice timelapse!
