In 1994 I was pretty much a point and shoot photographer of natural history. If I saw something interesting I set up and got an image. Sometimes they were ok but, quite honestly, most are now relegated to boxes and quite likely will never see the light of day again. A few are still relevant.
The first image is from 1994 while Mary Beth and I were vacationing at Acadia N.P. At that time I was running my small antique restoration business and working at the furniture store too. So photography was on the back burner and only got my attention at times like our vacations. In 2003 I was advised that I was working too much and find something to enjoy. Photography was the natural path and I am very grateful for that advice.
Please click to see the images at a larger size.
What attracted me most about the subjects was the grip of the roots to each other. The rest of the slope is not all that attractive and I have yet to get just the right angle and light to make this a more pleasing image. But here it is….a Kodachrome 25 transparency scanned on a Nikon 4000 scanner.
Fast forward to 2009 and we were hiking the same trail when Mary Beth pointed the trees out again and I did a couple of different compositions. The first is, once again, sort of a point and shoot shot. A little more to the point and thoughtful but still mostly a “look, isn’t the root and rock interesting” sort of thing.
After walking around a bit I noticed an angle that seems to be a bit more expressive and I am happy with the result. 
I am not done with this scene and very much looking forward to my next visit to the trail. 🙂
Stephen Gingold Nature Photography Blog 
A very interesting picture, I like to take some of the same different pictures but am just learning how to use my camera, Love to take pictures when i go walking in my fields on the farm.I am not sure what lens to use and the setting
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Thank you, Kay. My first photography book was John Shaw’s Nature Photography Field Guide which is still excellent for understanding the basics of photography even though it was before digital. There are many other contemporary books that I am not familiar with and I am sure one would be very helpful.
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Love all these, Steve. You had a good eye for seeing all these, especially old roots gripping old rocks. I’m finding it instructive to go through some of my old stuff and think about how I would do it differently now. It’s a great journey.
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Thanks Keith. There are certainly some nuggets in our old work and it is worthwhile to rummage through.
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Speechless with admiration! 🙂
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Thanks so much, Lottie. That says a lot. 🙂
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Oh my the monochrome is just right and the last photos is perfect. One rock has a gorgeous shape in one of the pix. I like the little write up about your journey to becoming the wonderful photographer that you are now. It’s funny how our lives sometimes make a turn for the better. Yours truly has.
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Thanks very much, Yvonne. Life’s twists and turns can be quite a challenge. I am very glad about where mine has gone and, I hope, where it is headed.
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I wish the best for you Steve. And, that you you fulfil your aspirations You are talented and I believe you to be a kind person.
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Thank you for those kind words, Yvonne. I most certainly wish the same for you. A little good turn of events would be quite welcomed in your life, I think, and maybe some good luck too.
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You got that right. I am too old for so much stress but then again maybe it is a good thing but not the child’s illness part. I hope and pray that things will turn around for my daughter.
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What I see here Steve is three excellent images. However what you have done is gone from the broader view to the detail and the magic is in the detail. Add to that the angle of the third shot where the roots seem to be coming out of the picture towards us, coupled with the sensuous curves of the vertical roots and there is an added dimension to version 3. It gives me comfort that over time I may ‘develop an eye for the detail’ as you have done.
Antique furniture is a real craft and a shame you don’t do it now. Did you train as a cabinetmaker?
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Thank you, Andrew. I wouldn’t worry too much about your eye. You see things in your street photography that would not occur to many…not me certainly.
No, I did not train for it per se. I worked as a delivery guy, then got invited to be asst. manager of the furniture store (not the one I work at now). The repair man had a heart attack and I jumped in and went from there. A couple of product manufacturer workshops followed by specialty antique workshops and away I went. We built an addition on the house for the work. One room is presently for exercise/storage and the other is where I now sit at the computer. A very good re-purposing of space, I think.
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That first picture calls out for the caption “a study in textures.’ It seemed to me almost as if textures had been imposed on the photograph even though all the textures were native to the objects themselves.
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Thanks for commenting, Steve. All those textures are why I am still looking forward to revisiting the trees/trail to see what else can be photographed.
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It’s incredible how nature can make a beautiful picture out of virtually anything. That’s not to say that anyone can take a beautiful picture, but the right photographer can do anything with just about any scene. Nature is really to thank for presenting the opportunity.
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I think it is more that everything in nature is beautiful, even decay, and it is up to us, whether photographer, painter, author or just plain observer, to see the beauty. It gets interesting when we realize that we all see things differently. 🙂
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Steve, this definitely represents an interesting progression in your vision. While it may have taken a while, you “shot your way into the scene,” as you probably do now over a much shorter time scale.
I really like your intimate landscapes, and the first monochrome image especially resonates with me quite a bit.
It’s cool that you could revisit these trees.
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Thanks Greg. I definitely shoot my way into the scene but usually it is all on the same day. 🙂
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It is interesting to read about the development of your eye and seeing deeper in this instance. I agree with other commenters that all three are good images. However, the third image was more satisfying to you and therefore also conveys more to us. It seems to have more feeling in it and it is more interesting. It is quite an fascinating study how the enthusiasm and other feelings of the photographer do translate to the viewer.
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Thanks for the thoughtful comment, David. I agree that the more feeling we put into an image the more the viewer relates to the photographer’s experience.
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I find trees compelling subjects. They have such soul and character. All your shots are fabulous, but the last one is riveting. And I completely agree with yours and David’s comments above. When the photographer’s spirit comes through the lens, others cannot help but be moved.
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Thank you, Intricate Knot. I am very glad the image translates into more than just a picture. The world is filled with wonderful photographers but we each have our own way of seeing and sharing that vision with others is what fulfills us as artists.
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Right on.
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Last photo is my favorite; wonderfully gnarled and ancient-looking and oh-so-wise. Fantastic! Glad you had Mary Beth’s extra set of eyes with you to capture these wonderful shots!
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Thanks very much, O’Diva. Almost everything is better with a little Mary Beth in it. 🙂 When I was there this Spring I did a little more with this tree and another but that’s for another day.
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