PAD 153 - Twisted Roots

[Mike Farley]

Day 153 and I have had a number of attempts at photographing this tree, where the ground has fallen away to reveal the roots. It is on a steep slope, which makes it tricky to move around, a problem compounded by there being a lot of loose pebbles underfoot. Previously I have played safe by shooting from a distance with a telephoto, but this has not proved entirely satisfactory. This time I went in close with a wide angle lens mounted on an infrared camera, which suits this type of subject better than converting to mono from images taken conventionally.

Canon EOS 450D converted to infrared, 720 nm filter
EF-S 10-22 f/3.5 4.5 USM
Focal length 12 mm
1/30 sec
f/8
ISO 800

[Nina]

I know this location don't I?
This is very good , certainly a lot better than what I achieved that day.

[Mike Farley]

I know this location don't I?
This is very good , certainly a lot better than what I achieved that day.

Thanks, Nina. You certainly do know this tree and like you I did not have much success until I worked out that to emphasise the roots a wide-angle close to the subject was the only real option. I was lying on the ground to get this shot. The infrared also helps, as it better brings out the textures in trees as I discovered when I took my PAD 119 image.

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As a comparison, this shot was taken shortly beforehand with a moderate telephoto lens on my 7D, but it does not have the same drama.