Tag Archives: redwood

Big Trees, Little Landscapes

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Colorful bark on a large redwood tree in Prairie Creek Redwood State Park

I was a little concerned when visiting the redwoods since I didn’t have a wide-angle lens for shooting the tall trees, but with layoffs looming I wasn’t about to spring for a full-frame camera or wide-angle digicam. There were definite times I wanted a wider lens, but I spent most of my time either shooting with my telephoto lenses or at the long end of my wide-angle zoom.

My wife and I had visited the redwoods on a day trip a decade ago and I was struck by the tall trees in the fog. I didn’t get much of the fog I hoped for on this trip but I had no shortage of subjects to photograph. The biggest surprise to me was the mesmerizing colors, shapes, and textures of the redwood trees and I spent more time zoomed in for intimate portraits of their bark than zoomed out for pictures of their girth.

I first got interested in shooting little landscapes like these in Yellowstone years ago, and this shot of the bark of an ancient redwood reminds me of my favorite spot in Mammoth Hot Springs.

Where’s Boolie 2009

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Rick Cameron hides inside a large redwood tree in Prairie Creek Redwood State Park

This year’s version of Where’s Boolie comes courtesy of a large redwood tree in Prairie Creek Redwood State Park. This was my first morning in the park and the tree sits right off the Prairie Creek Trail with a cavity in the middle suitable for housing an entire bigfoot family.

I had to smile when I heard a distant hooting that morning, probably an unfamiliar owl or other bird, but it also reminded me of the supposed bigfoot calls from I show I watched a while back. I hoped with camera in hand to get some nice high-resolution, in focus, non-shaky bigfoot pictures but it was not to be. It would have been the perfect time to prove my theory on the true nature of bigfoot.

It is not a popular theory and has put me on the fringe of the lunatic fringe. I believe that they are not some form of ape running undiscovered in our forests — I mean seriously — but that they are in fact Wookiees.

My critics are quick to point out that Star Wars is fictional. I know it’s fictional — I’m not an idiot. I just don’t understand how it’s relevant. To Kill a Mockingbird is fictional. Are mockingbirds fictional too?