In the Field

Young and Old; Western Larch and Ponderosa Pine. Findlay Creek, BC, Canada. May 8, 2006.

The forest surrounding our home is typical of the montane ecological zone of western North America - relatively open forest with widely spaced Ponderosa Pines and Douglas Fir and a smattering of Western Larch. I've walked by this large and quite old Ponderosa Pine hundreds of times and always found the contrast of its reddish bark with the needles of the surrounding young larch visually appealing. When I passed by it one day in May of 2006 I couldn't resist shooting this image. The larch needles had just come out and they were virtually surrounding the old majestic pine. To me, it seemed like the young challenging the old for our visual attention...

I did face one rather large and daunting photographic challenging in capturing this image. I was carrying only one lens with me and the distance between my camera and the larch needles on the right side of the frame was much shorter than the distance from camera and needles on the left side of the frame. Consequently, with the lens I had with me it was impossible to have all the needles (and the bark of the pine) in sharp focus simultaneously, regardless of the aperture chosen. So how did I solve the problem? I simply took 3 images of the scene, each on a different focal plane (1 with the needles on the right side of the frame in sharp focus, 1 with the bark of the pine in focus, and 1 with the needles on the left side of the frame in focus) and combined them later in Photoshop. I give a fuller explanation of how these "focal plane composites" are created in Bio: Techniques.

Alert: Digitally Manipulated Image: This image is a focal plane composite of 3 individual images.

It is my policy to clearly identify ANY images on this website that overstep the bounds of digital correction and enter the territory of digital manipulation (see Voice: Commentary: Digital Correction vs. Digital Manipulation).

Behind the Camera

Young and Old; Western Larch and Ponderosa Pine. Findlay Creek, BC, Canada. May 8, 2006.

Digital Capture; Compressed RAW (NEF) format; ISO 100.

Nikon D200 with Nikon AF-S Micro 105 mm f/2.8 ED-IF N VR lens (157 mm equivalent with digital conversion factor) supported on Gitzo G1228 Mk2 Mountaineer carbon fibre tripod with Acratech Ultimate ballhead.

1/60s @ f8; +0.33 stop compensation from matrix-metered exposure setting.

At the Computer

Young and Old; Western Larch and Ponderosa Pine. Findlay Creek, BC, Canada. May 8, 2006.

Details to follow.

Conservation

Young and Old; Western Larch and Ponderosa Pine. Findlay Creek, BC, Canada. May 8, 2006.

Information to follow.