Seeing The Forest For The Trees
I had just finished a two day Oregon Coast photo workshop. Clients were on their way home but we intended to spend another day or two on the Coast before returning to Central Oregon. We slept in with no particular agenda in mind.
The morning sky was clear …. translation …. not ideal for taking photographs. Nonetheless we decided to head south to the Cape Meares Lighthouse for the morning. As we drove I could see a bank of fog in the direction we were headed. Immediately my mind began to consider the photo possibilities.
This wasn’t our first visit to Cape Meares Lighthouse. I knew the area and all the viewpoints. The closer we got the thicker the fog appeared. I was now in full photo mode. When we arrived I grabbed my gear and set off to capture moody costal forest images.
The fog was perfect for creating atmospheric coastal forest images. Sunlight, filtered by the fog, streamed in from my right. I hunted for a composition.
I found a large tree with reaching arms. It would be the perfect foreground object. I position it on the right-hand side of the frame. Its big branches reached out in the same direction as all the branches from the other trees behind it.
Meares Coastal Forest 210086NWND850BW
The dark tree trunks backlight by the foggy morning light worked perfect as a black and white image. The moss clinging to the tree trunks added some great texture. I especially liked the small clump of heart shaped and dimpled foliage at the base of the foreground tree.
I excluded the tree canopies except for just a bit seen through the window made by the big foreground tree branches. The mostly vertical shapes and patterns are interrupted by a single horizontal line the fence rail.
Satisfied with my capture I walked on.
Meares Rest Stop 210088NWND850BW
I came upon a wooden bench. It was surrounded by climbing vines and forest floor foliage. A single vine looped itself over the seat back. Clearly someone had sat against the vine. Several leaves were missing, one remained whole and one was left ruffled and hanging by a thread. I imagined what this bench would look like if left alone for a year.
I composed an image to maximize the scene detail. I was fascinated by the different sizes and shapes of foliage. The vines with their broad leaves seem to push their way forward and up. The smaller waxy looking leaves on the left appear content to be in shadow. The grasses on the left side, the heart shaped leaves under the seat, and the ferns creeping in from the right all seemed to be vying for open space. A bed of pine needles covered the forest floor.
As I edited this image I wanted the detail to pull the viewer in. I consciously choose to include every black and white tone on the gray scale, from the very darkest to the very lightest.
Time to walked on.
We had already been on location for a good long while. The fog lingered but seemed to wax and wane now threatening to disappear. I reached the path trailhead that lead to the upper forest. Just then the sun breached the treetops while the fog was still dense below. It created streaks of bright fog shafts among the dense trees.
Meares Forest Light 210087NWND850BW
I quickly positioned the camera vertically. I careful composed the shot. I did my best to avoid bending tree trunks common when using a wide angle lens. The light shaft phenomenon lasted a good long time. Much longer than I expected. Actually it lasted long enough to try different composition with a few different lenses.
Some of the images had brighter fog shafts and a few even had starburst looking details where the sun beamed through the tree tops. But I settled on the image show here because I felt it was the best composition to tell the story. We stood there amazed as the whole scene disappeared.
The fog lifted, we walked on and our morning was complete.
Thanks for your continued interest and support.
Cheers,
Steve
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