Some time ago I used an Image from this series to tell the story of a wonderful old Utah juniper tree Bonnie and I found in Arches National Park as we were about to be inundated by an intense thunderstorm moving over Arches from the west. In the first Image, even though the skies were clouding thickly to dark grey, one could still see across Salt Valley and on to the Balanced Rock area several miles to the southeast.
As we lingered, the storm swept toward us until the clouds were directly overhead and the distant features were obscured in the rain. I narrowed my focal length to draw greater attention to the juniper preparing for the imminent deluge; and we broke for our car only when the first giant drops began to splatter the dirt around us.
A focal length of 217mm gave me the angle-of-view I wanted with some increased magnification of the tree and some compression of the background. An aperture of f/20 provided depth-of-field; and a shutter speed of 1/5th second at ISO 100 gave me a slightly darker-than-medium overall exposure.
Yesterday (Saturday 26th) was National Public Lands Day. I hope you celebrated by making a commitment to do whatever you can to support and protect our shared heritage. These lands are under intense assault by interests that would develop them to destruction or remove them altogether from our common wealth. Not hyperbole; fact.
This is beautiful, Don. And so fitting.
Hey Lynne. Thanks for joining us for this conversation. I really appreciate your kind words. There are so many levels on which we might consider the “fitting-ness of the image, and I look forward to having that conversation with you. Walk in Beauty.
Perfect, just perfect.
Hi Linda. It’s excellent to hear from you. Thanks for your kind comment. I was asking Judy earlier in the week if she has talked to you recently and how things are in Ashfield as we head into the fall color season. I hope you are preparing for some wonderful color in Western Massachusetts and you will have the opportunity to be creative in the midst of all the the season offers. Take good care and be well.
This is powerful! It reminds me of a scene from GWTW where Scarlet is holding a fist full of clay and shouting up to the heavens. This shows the tree is using every available appendage to reach for the heavens while it is holding on to the earth and wrapping an arm around some new growth to protect it. The perfect amount of clouds to show the whole in the storm and the different shades of gray. Even the rock in the foreground has an important role. It lets us know it is not just the plant life that needs protection; it’s everything in sight! This could be a poster for the cause!
Thanks for being out there capturing the stories and sharing them with us.
Hey Nancy T. What an endearing comparison you have given us: an old Utah juniper and the South’s most famous (or notorious) vixen. The one word this tree shouted at me was “determination.” The other movie comparison the came to mind was from Forrest Gump where Lieut. Dan was up on the mast of the shrimp boat shaking his fist at the hammering storm above him. We all have such interesting perspectives on man’s relationship to the natural world, and our old tree in this instance becomes “Everyman.” Sometimes the camera is an adequate, or at least apt, substitute for being there, and sometimes it seems to somehow fall short. I felt like, on this occasion, that the analogy was effective. Talk soon.
Don, what a strong image. I see light coming through the middle of the dark cloud. The tree is man, reaching up to the light; as a tree in Robert Frost’s poem represents a woman. Nice work, sir!
Hi Rosemary. Thank you so much for being with us. I appreciate your drawing our attention to the light in the cloud. It also cast increased illumination on the tree itself. Isn’t is so interesting that we see “Mankind” in the old tree. I wonder if our thoughts would be different if the shape of the tree was not quite so anthropomorphic. Since we are not required to decide this we can leave all as it is and consider ourselves in the reach of the branches Hope all is well with you and Dr. Don. Walk in Beauty.
You caught serious drama!
Hi Phyllis. It has been quite some time, but thank you for joining us. I really appreciate your thoughtful comment. I was concerned that we were going to get seriously wet as the price of the ticket to the drama; but all was well in the end. Hope you are safe and well.
LOVE this……so anticipatory.
Hi Robin. It’s always good to hear from you. I love your well-selected choice of words. Spoken like a true aficionado of the written word and appreciated as such. There are moments in the post-life existence of that old juniper where spirit must observe the conditions as they are unfolding and the awareness must surely come, ” Things are about to become very exciting.” Wouldn’t you just love to carry on conversations with this tree about the things it has seen? You and the Boss stay safe and be well.
Wow: A tree with such determination and power — and it will not be moved.
I’m currently putting finishing touches on an exhibit. I promise to write you a long email after it opens next weekend.
Ah, Patricia, my Dear One, it’s wonderful to have you join me. A tree of such determination that was not even planted by the water. I want to visit this tree one more time before I hang up my hiking sneakers, but I fear the crowds of Arches have become overwhelming for my delicate sensibilities.
I do look forward to that email with great anticipation and I trust the exhibit will be a wonderful success. Hope you’ll send pictures. Take very good care and be well. Walk in Beauty.
Thank you Everyone for joining me for this discussion. This old juniper has been a wonderful reminder for me of so much that I dearly love about the desert Southwest and the Colorado Plateau. For me it is scenes like this that give life and meaning to the Red Rock country that is the context for all of it. This land and all of the public lands of Utah, and our entire country, are a sacred trust given to us-rightly or wrongly-by the march of our history. It is our obligation to care for these lands and to pass them along to our descendants in better condition than we received them. May we all do that with our actions every day.