The Magic of Trees: Weekly Photo Challenge
“I am grateful for the magic, mystery and majesty of nature.”
Tom North
SKY-BRUSH
Last year I was privileged to attend a presentation by Joyce Tenneson, named one of the 10 most influential women in the history of photography and one of the elite Canon “Explorers of Light”. This year, Joyce returned to conduct a two-day seminar for 10 very privileged students including yours truly. For two days we focused on the beautiful trees of Kiawah – using imagination to see and present them in new and creative ways.
CHARCOAL FOREST
“Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”
Roald Dahl
In the capture above I did a vertical pan of a copse of pine trees, converted it to black and white and then restructured using filters in Photoshop. Interestingly, during Joyce’s workshop we spent as much time working in the classroom on post-processing as we did in the field shooting. Because Joyce’s focus was on seeing beyond the obvious, and visualizing the personality and power of our subjects, we were given free rein to present them as we imagined them.
THE CLIMBER
“Children see magic because they look for it.”
Christoper Moore
I was happy to see this week’s Magic challenge because to me Joyce’s session helped us to see the magic in the everyday. Combining our vision with today’s technology advances allowed us to interpret scenes as never before.
BIRD ON A BRANCH
“Love and magic have a great deal in common. they enrich the soul, delight the heart.”
Nora Roberts
Finally, I’ll to close with an impression I created from some captures of our beautiful sweetgrass. While it’s not a tree, it’s lovely ephemeral colors demanded a share of my attention as I wandered about seeking my subjects. It’s delicate, whispy stalks are about as close to magic as one can get.
DROPS ON SWEETGRASS
“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.”
W.B. Yeats
Here’s wishing those in the US a wonderful Thanksgiving, surrounded by those you love.
Travels and Trifles 
Stunning work!
Many thanks Cynthia. The trees are so majestic it’s difficult to capture them in a photograph. >