Trees

Like leaves, trees embody a story all on their own. Some trees have been around for centuries and still stand tall to show their depth and might. A tree without leaves may be harrowing and foreboding, likewise a tree with leaves may accentuate beauty and visual interest. It is a privilege to walk under a canopy of trees or over a rug of fallen branches...older than you, feeling so small. Speak for the trees.

Maidenhair Tree During Autumn
Russ Nature Reserve, Beavercreek, Ohio "Travel, photography and wilderness are my addictions.... And I'm happy with that...” - Kedar Dhepe A fairly early shot in my portfolio. The way I can tell is that most of them are taken during midday light. However, I love the ideas I was going for here. I saw this gorgeous sprawling tree that had its peak foliage and was significantly taller than me. To emphasize the color and size, I used a wide angle lens and simply looked up. The multitude of branches jutting out in all different directions helped break up the patterns of the yellow leaves. At a thumbnail glance, I love the abstraction this image creates. The amazing fact about Autumn foliage is the timely manner in which it exists. A week or so after this photo was taken, I bet the tree only had half its leaves. The composition would simply be less powerful then. That's what photography means to me, capturing a moment in time that may never happen again, or if so, in a long time. Yet the beauty of nature is that it is all timeless. © 2017 Ryan L. Taylor Photography. All Rights Reserved.
Vine Leaves and Tree Bark Detail
Narrows Reserve, Beavercreek, Ohio "I realize more and more what it takes to be a really good photographer. You go in over your head, not just up to your neck." - Dorothea Lange There is something to be said about how fascinating the amount of perspectives you can create with a photograph. The close and personal, the far and wide and everything in between. The subject will never look the same in two different kinds of light, etc. A rather early shot in my portfolio, I in fact used a wide angle to capture the essence of the tree. I question that choice now, as the "compressed" leads me to believe it would be a small telephoto. The field of view seems so cropped in that there should be distortion, yet there is none. There is a slight amount of natural vignetting that occured on the top and bottom of the frame. An aperture of f/2.8 (the widest that the 24mm prime can shoot at) allowed the focus to be centrally on the vine growing around this tree. ISO 800 was sufficient enough to grab enough light, but keeping it just a tad bit underexposed to add some mood and mystery to the image. I like the more muted and calm colors presented here, and the composition of the vine. Regardless, this early image still holds itself together against my latest work. © 2017 Ryan L. Taylor Photography. All Rights Reserved.
Fungi (Flammulina velutipes) on Tree Bark
Narrows Reserve, Beavercreek, Ohio "Solitary trees, if they grow at all, grow strong." - Winston Churchill One of the oldest images I still have in my possession. I took this with having no idea what kind of mushroom spore or fungi I was looking at. Plant and any other organism is important to identify to learn more about. The rule of thirds comes into play here, as the fungal subject is offset to the side with some negative space offsetting it. A rainy day meant the colors were saturated and light was diffussed. Standing on the shadowed side of the tree further helped in dialing back the exposure. © 2017 Ryan L. Taylor Photography. All Rights Reserved.
Lichen Detail on Crooked Tree
Narrows Reserve, Beavercreek, Ohio "I never saw a discontented tree. They grip the ground as though they liked it, and though fast rooted they travel about as far as we do." - John Muir One of my earlier images, I was particularly interested in the strange eclectic nature of lichens. The fungus-like organisms found on trees habitat permitting. I set the camera to a wide aperture to enable a more selective focus. In this case the background was chosen to be out of focus. The overcast lighting of a rainy day meant everything in the scene was diffused and pleasant to meter and work with. © 2018 Ryan L. Taylor Photography. All Rights Reserved.
Unique Park Tree Trunk
Sol Arnovitz Park, Xenia, Ohio "Photography to me is catching a moment which is passing, and which is true." - Jacques-Henri Lartigue An earlier shot in my career came from this local park. The several acre greenspace contains a disc golf course and mixed woodland interspersed with Shawnee creek flowing through it. After several curious walks about the area previously, this was my first proper visit with the camera. I took some time to look at this tree just before leaving for the day. The teardrop-shaped gash in the side caught my eye and so a vertical setup was my first idea. The cleancut grassy lawn surrounding it reinforced this area wasn't too off the beaten path, yet it still contained visual treasures such as this. © 2018 Ryan L. Taylor Photography. All Rights Reserved.
Autumn Transitioning Foliage
Caesar Creek State Park, Waynesville, Ohio "A forest full of trees is as important and valuable as a mine full of gold.” - Paul Bamikole I had been hiking all day out in the green and yellow deeps woods that wrap around Caesar Creek Lake. I previsualized an image similar to this as the leaves changed colors. At this time the woods were a grotesque mix of green in some patches while other spots are more yellow. This is an abstract way of seeing the forest for the trees. My intentions were to portray the texture and form of the trees in a cropped in aspect. Using a small telephoto lens was essential for this image. If I used a wider angle for example, the shot would encompass too much space. The goal was to compress the distance between foreground and background, almost like it was "pulling you in." © 2018 Ryan L. Taylor Photography. All Rights Reserved.
Crabapple Tree Blossoms
Beavercreek, Ohio "Reversing deforestation is complicated; planting a tree is simple." - Martin O'Malley A throwback to the when spring had sprung. This is a tree in my front yard that blossomed for less than a week. That specific week is always different every year depending on the weather conditions, so when the time comes you must act on it. This year I fortunately had a moment to spare when at peak color. The puffy white cumulus clouds and blue sky added to the image whereas a dull grey sky would detract. The perspective here is rather unusual; I employed the use of a wide angle lens and pointed it straight up. My aim was to create a simpler detail shot of the tree, showing enough of it to get the idea. The best photos are ones that focus on the subject and remove any distractions. While not my best photo ever, I'd say I achieved that. © 2019 Ryan L. Taylor Photography. All Rights Reserved.

Cataloochee Valley Sunrise Tree
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina, Ohio The morning light gently places itself on the backside of this tree in Cataloochee Valley. © 2022 Ryan L. Taylor Photography. All Rights Reserved.

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