Portraits of trees are an important subject of mine. Especially lone trees which stand as a testament to their fortitude. I know I tend more towards the introvert end of the spectrum and I see or sense many of those qualities in the lone trees that I stop and spend time with.
This gentleman had staked his claim on the world on a hillside outside of Ruidoso in southern New Mexico. I came across him one day wandering those hills about a year after a wildfire had made its way through the area. Even though the spark of life had been extinguished in him he still commanded respect as the sentinel of his hill. All done on the iPhone, I used an app to give it the look of a Japanese woodblock print, then added some texture from another app and a little bit of work to take some harshness out of the sun shining his smile down on his friend.
“Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. They do not preach learning and precepts, they preach undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life.”
Hermann Hesse, Wandering
(Originally Published (June 2, 2016)