Are Birch Trees Difficult ?

[Ken Lee]

Dear Ken,

I always find that a soft northern light, from a clear sky near dusk, works best for me. Unfortunately, my example shows a group of Alders. Distant cousins I think, but then again I do not know...

jim k

Alders at Dusk, Port Hardy, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, 2007

Thanks for that helpful tip - And thanks for sharing the lovely photo. So far, you're the only one courageous enough to do so.

A few years back, Steve Sherman shared with me his observation that with respect to lighting, dusk - after the sun has set - is when the magic really happens. I stored it in memory, but failed to appreciate the wisdom.

Come to think of it, the only 'successful' image I ever made of this sort of tree, was taken just after sunset, a time I usually quit shooting. Hmmm...

[Ken Lee]

"Easy. Just like snow but a tree"

"The hardest part is learning where to point the camera".

Just listen to that Vermont understatement.

Richard is an Artist, a Craftsman, and a... Sage !

[ljsegil]

Everything is difficult for me.
Larry

[Ron Marshall]

Now I finally understand why my Douglas Fir photos always turn out so well!

[Heroique]

Seattle has a lot of birches – they love rain, after all – and these are the city's most common, Whitebark Himalayen Birches. These grow near my home. They’re not native – they’re Asiatic, with attractive and very white bark.

(BTW, I object to the artificial orderliness of these. Like pieces on a chess board. A greater diversity of spacing – and species – would have been better.)

Birches, willows, alders & aspens are favorite subjects of mine – not just because their bark can be beautifully bright. The tiny shivering leaves, if one’s shutter speed is right, can add a touch of subtle (and not overwhelming) feel for breeze. These early-spring buds have just emerged and vibrate in a slight wind. The motion is more apparent on my 11x14 analog print, but here are some crops from the negative to help.

Tachi 4x5
Schneider XL 110mm/5.6
Polaroid Type 55
1.5 sec. @ f/32
Level camera (w/ moderate front rise)
Epson 4990/Epson Scan

[Vaughn]

Now I finally understand why my Douglas Fir photos always turn out so well!

Why do you think I photograph redwoods -- they did not even make the chart!

Vaughn

[Nathan Potter]

Several years ago I was photographing around the Everglades near Fort Myers FL. I found this place called Corkscrew Swamp, a wonderful spot, with miles of wooden walkways; in fact the most beautiful wood walkway I'd ever seen nearly brand new. Then somebody said it was more than 40 years old! Since it was suspended over standing water by 4X4 inch posts driven into the swamp I had to find out what the wood was - this would be my new deck material. Turns out it was Brazilian Ipe more commonly a tropical ironwood.

When I returned to Austin I, with difficulty, located a source for Ipe nearby and ordered a stack of 1X6 boards ($2.80/ft. sq.) for the surface of my 1400 square foot upper deck. Wow, this stuff is hard, tough and undentable and can smoke an HSS drill as if it were a chinese toy into pine. So it took a few months but I actually got the deck surfaced by drilling for every stainless steel deck screw. It's been almost 10 years now and the deck still looks brand new.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

[venchka]

The chart omits 3 North American candidates harder than white oak. Fitting subjects for Ken.
Black Locust
Bois d'Arc (Osage orange)
Live Oak

I'm partial to river birch. They grow in my backyard. You can see a portion of one here:

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/ven...ass-4.jpg.html

[Mark Sawyer]

"Are Birch Trees Difficult?"

No worse than my last girlfriend...

[tmastran]

Are Birch Trees (and Aspens) difficult to photograph well ? If so, why ? If not, why not ?

Ken,

Compared to your beautiful flower photographs, I don't think so. Sunrise or dusk with a long exposure and slow film, on a damp day, works best for me.