Redwood Forest, Morning. Muir Woods National Monument, California. August 1, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Morning light in the redwood forest at Muir Woods National Monument
Walking along one of the main trails at Muir Woods, most of the forest was in deep shade. However, up the hillside to my right the morning sun had cleared a nearby ridge and was beginning to cast rays of light into the forest and, especially, to illuminate some of the deciduous trees a bit further up the hill. I had been looking closely at the trunks of big trees along the trail, trying to find compositions in this low light, but the bright light beyond distracted me.
Looking through this group of large, bulky, and mostly straight redwood trunks, I was struck by the difference between their appearance the slender and curving shapes of these further trees – which I think were probably laurels. I also like the slightly disjunct appearance of some of the closer trees, including the one curving from center to the left and the thin tree near the left that is more brightly lit by sun. For the photographers out there, this photograph presented a major exposure problem. As you can imagine, the range between the foreground shadows of the redwood trees and the sunlit trees in the distance was huge. Believe it or not, this photograph was made from a single exposure of the scene.
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.