A Photographic Challenge of Monumental Scale
NOTE: Images with an icon next to them have been artificially shrunk to better fit your screen; click the icon to restore them, in place, to their regular size.
Tree in Section -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2011 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 cropped — 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800 — map & image datanearby photos
Tree in Section

In the mountains of Northern Kyoto, after the stop along the logging road that produced last week's “Deep In The Mountains Above Kyoto's Kumogahata Village”, we moved deeper in/up the mountains and eventually came upon our first “vista” with a distant view. It wasn't particularly magnificent by any stretch, but it was the first we'd seen so it was nice.

I knew instinctively that I'd not be able to capture the sense of depth and elevation, and I was correct...

Blah -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2011 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — 1/800 sec, f/2.8, ISO 250 — map & image datanearby photos
Blah

The “tree in section” in the center of the photo is way below us down a steep slope, but the photo really gives no sense of that. The next version, with the focus much closer, hints more at the true scenario, but is still lacking...

Somewhat Less Blah -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2011 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — 1/2000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 250 — map & image datanearby photos
Somewhat Less Blah

While stopped at the “vista” point, I noticed some semblance of a trail leading up the mountain, and we took it for a distance...

Trailish -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2011 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 5000 — map & image datanearby photos
Trailish

In the distance, top center of the photo above, you can see a moss-covered rock. How big is the rock? Here's a closer look...

Looks Sort Of Big but check out those form-fitting roots... -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2011 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/125 sec, f/4, ISO 1800 — map & image datanearby photos
Looks Sort Of Big
but check out those form-fitting roots...
Funky Form-Fitting Roots -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2011 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 4500 — map & image datanearby photos
Funky Form-Fitting Roots
Built to Spec -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2011 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 — map & image datanearby photos
Built to Spec

The form-fitting roots are interesting, but I find the lack of scale irritating, and I have to resort to an out-of-focus Paul for some scale...

Finally Some Scale it was a big rock -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2011 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — 1/160 sec, f/1.4, ISO 280 — map & image datanearby photos
Finally Some Scale
it was a big rock

I wish I knew how to capture the essence of scale (bigness, tallness, deepness, far-awayness, etc.) better. It's quite a challenge. (And hence we have the horrible pun of this post's title. :-))

Tree (and Ferns) Growing On Bare Rock -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2011 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2200 — map & image datanearby photos
Tree (and Ferns) Growing On Bare Rock
Towering Boulders, Towering Trees -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2011 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1800 — map & image datanearby photos
Towering Boulders, Towering Trees
Not Everything Is Towering -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2011 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 2200 — map & image datanearby photos
Not Everything Is Towering
Another View of the Funky Roots -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2011 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — 1/160 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1250 — map & image datanearby photos
Another View of the Funky Roots

Continued here...


One comment so far...

Jeffrey, you’re being a bit hard on yourself on the scale thing. Your first one is not so Blah at all. But it does depend on us knowing that the trunks of those tiny looking cryptomerias are 30-40m… Evergreen forest is just like that – think of all those Black Forest photos that do not do justice to why the Germans call them black and people them with demons.
But Towering Trees photo gets the vertiginous scale thing very well. You must be pleased with the ferns and roots shots too. Your fan base over here for all things tree & fern are very happy.
Maybe we could have a separate post category for forests and ferns?
Keep em coming.
Annie

— comment by Annie in London on June 21st, 2011 at 1:09am JST (12 years, 9 months ago) comment permalink
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