Once the leaves fell from the trees, I discovered how many different branch structures the various species of trees in my neighborhood have. Somehow I’d never paid attention to what bare branches looked like before.
Here are some of the photos of bare branches I’ve taken so far as part of my 90 Day Photo Project. If you’re wondering what this project is about – see last week’s blog post 90 Day Photo Project – Colorful Leaves.
Day 15 – Trees in the Fog
It was really foggy when I went out this morning to take my 30 photos. As I looked out the door – I could see the bare branches of the trees silhouetted in fog. So I just stood at the end of my driveway and photographed the trees. It was neat seeing the shapes of the different species of trees and how some have straight branches and some have very crooked branches.
© 2011 Patty Hankins
Day 30 – Bare Branches
A gray rainy day here in Bethesda. I started photographing the tree branches – I really liked the shapes and curves in them. Then I noticed the flat gray sky – and the contrast between the branches and the sky when I photographed them against the sky. I did something I rarely do – overexposed the photo by +1 to really emphasize the contrast between the branches and the sky.
And I discovered an unexpected benefit from my 90 photo project. I’m meeting my neighbors – as they come up to me and ask me what I’m photographing. I had a great conversation today with a woman who has lived 3 houses down the street from me for 15 years – and until today – I’d never even talked to her before 🙂
© 2011 Patty Hankins
Day 31 – Cherry Tree in the Rain
Another rainy day today. I finally got enough of a break in the weather that at least I didn’t get totally soaked while out photographing today.
I liked the way the water drops looked on the bare branches of my cherry tree. And that without any leaves – there just seemed to be layer upon layer of bare branches and water drops.
The sun is supposed to come out tomorrow . . .
© 2011 Patty Hankins
Day 34 – Bare Branches
When I went out today – I loved the shapes in the bare branches on this tree. They remind me of some of the corals that Bill used to photograph on the reefs off of Florida.
My original version of this photo was in color – with blues and greens in the background. But I tried a conversion to black and white – and all of a sudden the amazing structure of the branch stood out even more – I also liked the way the light highlighted the branches in the center.
I’ve been surprised at how many B&W photos I’ve posted recently – usually my photos are full of bright colors. . . .
© 2011 Patty Hankins
Day 40 – Tree Tops
Today was one of those cold gray days in Bethesda. If it were a few degrees colder – I’d suspect we were going to get snow- but fortunately – that’s not in the forecast
As I looked around – I was struck by how different the tops of various species of trees look. Some still have a few leaves, some have curved branches. This tree had fairly straight branches – that split into three little ones at the top. I liked the way they looked silhouetted against the flat gray sky
© 2011 Patty Hankins
Day 44 – Tree tops
I found the structure of the top of this tree really interesting. Lots of branches splitting off other branches – in V shapes. And then what looks like a bud or berry starting to from at the very tip of each branch.
© 2011 Patty Hankins
Day 45 – Raindrops on the Dogwood Tree
Another rainy day in Bethesda. I’m not sure if this year has been rainer than previous years in December or if I’m just noticing it more because I’m out photographing every day. . .
On this particular rainy day – I noticed the shape of the branches on the neighbor’s dogwood tree – and how they looked with raindrops on them. The curves and lines of these branches are so different from the straighter branch structures I’d photographed the previous day.
© 2011 Patty Hankins
Day 46 – Magnolia Buds
Day 46 was December 22 – the first day of winter. A few days earlier I spotted these buds on one of the local magnolia trees. While they won’t bloom for several more months – I thought they are a great reminder that spring (and all the wonderful flowers) will return.
© 2011 Patty Hankins
If you’d like to see the full set of photos from my 90 Day Photo Project or would like to follow along as I post new photos – I’m posting the photos and comments to both Facebook and Google+.