I’m actually a portrait artist and illustrator, but rediscovered photography due to the pandemic. Security measures here in Germany have pushed us all to spend more time outside even in ugly weather. But turns out long walks are not just healthy for your body, you also come a across the most beautiful things to feed your soul.
I’ve always liked to walk among a local clearing of two dozen large European oak trees. They are about 350 years old and stand up to 60 feet tall. The largest tree has a girth of 20 feet. When I first moved to the area there were just those giants, but local authorities have begun reforestation and now young trees are growing next to them.
I love to sit there and draw in summer. Returning in November I found myself stepping into a failytale I just HAD to photograph and share with others. Hope you enjoy!
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This is my favourite tree. It stands a bit apart from the rest, adjacant to a large thicket. It’s bend with lots of gnarly limbs that form an awning - perfect to relax under in summer.
Like I said, I’m more of a painter and an illustrator than a photographer. So I explored how colour editing could en-hance atmosphere or push an image just a bit into a surreal parallel world.
But most photographs shown here have just a bit of colour enhancement in them - to restore the atmosphere that is lost once you push a three-dimensional landscape into a frame.
What a difference two weeks make! The first photo was taken at the end of October. Two weeks later the same view has such an eerie, mystical look. This shot was not edited at all. It came out of the camera exactly like this.
This third image was taken on another foggy day, but at an earlier time, in better lighting conditions.
I found it astounding how different the same tree looks depending on weather and ...
... how much positioning matters. The following two images feature the same tree.
The old and the new: Here are the oldest and the youngest trees in the area. Both pairs are amazing in their own way.
And look, here’s the middle aged kaffeeklatsch with Grannie in the background.
There are also several dead trees among the healthy ones. These skeletons are especially creepy just before nightfall. Let’s just say it wasn’t the lack of tripod that made me pack up once darkness was closing in...
