“Taking time in stillness is an essential part of my every day. It saves my sanity, it grounds and centers me. I can carry that peace with me wherever I go.” 
― Akiroq Brost

Welcome once more to a moment in the forest, this time a warm, dry, and largely mosquito free sojourn into the green.

As I hike these trails, often 10-15 km at a time, I pass many wonderful scenes and many, many trees, yet every so often a scene presents itself which makes my pause on my journey and a photo come together.

In this image, a large sugar maple dominates the scene just on the edge of a hemlock grove.

Titles for my images often come to me as soon as I start composing the image and I often find myself wondering what particular elements of the image prompted that though process. So, I consider this image. Dominant. Yes, this maple is the largest tree in the scene, it has more texture, and is in the foreground, but I see these scenes many times along my hikes. So, what is it about this particular tree that brings that word to mind above the rest of the moments I experience?

I think, in this case, it’s simply the placement of the tree, just to the left of a game trail. It almost welcomes me to enter an partake. The next thing I see is an exposed rock, reflecting the warm sunlight, followed by the glow of an exposed stump, and the journey continues. In the end, it’s the combination of light and line that seems to start with this one tree. It’s the anchor and the beginning and dominant, yet not imposing or threatening. Interestingly, a made another image of it from a slightly different angle and the scene lost all it allure.

Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mmm
1/4 sec, f/14.0, ISO 400

For more images like this, please visit my website (images are available for purchase)
http://www.edlehming.com