“I think it is far more important to save one square mile of wilderness, anywhere, by any means, than to produce another book on the subject.” 
― Edward Abbey

In this image, the pines emerge from a thickening undergrowth. You can also see evidence of deliberate ‘thinning’ of this managed forest. Larger trees are selectively removed, the forest managers careful to remove the branches, lest they become fuel for fires. The trunks cut into manageable pieces, are left to return to the earth, a slow, natural, but controlled cycle.

I chose to make this image because it shows the prevalence of the low underbrush, primarily sedges, bracken ferns, and a few maple, beech, and birch saplings, starting to take hold, as pine canopy thins. The sunlights is quite noticeable in the background, further evidencing this thinning. There is lots of room for growth here and I can only imagine what it will look like in a few short years, as the hardwoods take root “Among the Pines”, eventually becoming the dominant species till the pines become the minority in this evolving forest.

It has been interesting to me, working on this series to take the time to observe the many patterns in a very familiar forest. It’s not till I paused and really considered the elements in each composition that I became more and more aware of the stages and changes this area is going through, some accelerated and others a bit slower, each as it is required to be, an essential part of the life of the living breathing forest.

Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/4 sec, f/18.0, ISO 100 

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