Special Times

For a photographer there are a few magical times of day. Times when a subject can come alive with light. During most of the daylight hours the Sun shines brightly down on us. It casts harsh shadows, creating large amounts of contrast between subjects which are lit and subjects which are in almost darkness. What makes the hour before sunset and the hour after sunrise so special is that the world is lit from the side. Leaves come alive and dance when the Sun shines on them this way. This willow tree caught my attention one evening last week when the golden beams of sunlight caused it to shimmer. Have a great weekend!

Nikon D800 Sigma 85mm f/1.4 @ f/16  ISO 100 1/13 sec

Early Morning Willow

I think the willow tree is one of the most beautiful trees in all of creation. Its weeping branches fall gently to the ground, shading sunlight from the inner canopy. Shadows dance in the leaves when the wind blows softly but the willow appears firm and strong in a gale. The look of this regal tree can seem ancient. They are mentioned in the Bible and Shakespeare wrote of them. Often they appear in mystical tales. They are mentioned by J.K. Rowling in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Lloyd Alexander in The Castle of Llyr, and Old Man Willow appears in J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. In Disney’s Pocahontas the willow appears as the symbol of wisdom. I remember as a child darting beneath the branches playing hide and seek. Next time you see one, take a step back and imagine this sturdy mass of flowing grace looking out over creation for decades to come.

Early Morning Willow

Nikon D800 Nikkor 28-30mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 38mm f/6.3 ISO 100 5 image HDR