Happy New Year, Happy Trees!

Happy New Year, my darlings!

Back to the trees. Since I haven't been out there too much with my own camera lately...but since it seems appropriate to start the year off with some breathtaking tree imagery...I have looked no further than National Geographic, since their photography is never anything short of fantastic. Feast with your eyes, as I have. These trees are enough to make you certain of a spectacular 2012.

(I've listed the photographer under each image. Click the caption text to go to the Photo of the Day page where it was found, and for photo descriptions).

Reader submitted National Geographic Photo of the Day, September 23, 2011. Photograph by Petr Cunderlik.

Reader submitted National Geographic Photo of the Day, November 10, 2011. Photograph by Kent Shiraishi.

Reader submitted National Geographic Photo of the Day, April 14, 2011. Photograph by Giuliano Mangani.

National Geographic Photo of the Day, May 17, 2011. Photograph by Frans Lanting.

Reader submitted National Geographic Photo of the Day, June 27, 2010. Photograph by Christiano Pessoa.

Reader submitted National Geographic Photo of the Day, December 18, 2010. Photograph by Amnon Eichelberg.


There you have it. Delicious photos, splendid trees! Top to bottom, these trees live in: Czech Republic, Japan, unknown, Namibia, Brazil, and Tanzania.

Bring on 2012!

Spanish Trees

Turns out there are palm trees in Spain. Which may not seem odd to many of you, but for some reason, I had never even considered this possibility, and so it took me by surprise. Especially when I was walking through the very narrow streets of Old Town Barcelona and came upon a palm tree there, just hanging out in a sunny corner, hugging the charming buildings where the cobblestone alleyway opened up just a little bit wider than too-narrow-for-a-car. I'm telling you. It was strange. And delightful. I think because I grew up in Central New York—and to this day have never been to Florida—that I still have this perception of Palm Trees as exotic and other-worldly and endlessly fascinating (as can also be noted here). And this is why I took too many photos of palm trees on my recent visit to Barcelona and Bilbao.

Here is the aforementioned tree, happy in it's cosy surroundings:


And a few more palm trees scattered around this beautiful city:




Peeking above the buildings! So great. And because I wanted to bring them home with me, here are a few more that made me smile. For your enjoyment, as well. The final tree (below) lives in the mountain town of Bilbao, and was enjoyed with a glass of red wine, of course.

Portrait of a Tree

While this post takes a look at some incredibly stunning tree photography by artist Myoung Ho Lee (tree art posts are some of my favorites), it is personally devastating. Let me explain. For some time now, I have been cultivating a super-secret idea for a photography project that I'd like to undertake "some day" when I get the time and funding. Just last week, I disclosed my idea to Kevin and we were discussing the feasibility. After I listed off all my hang-ups and excuses, he said "apply for a grant! just go for it! do it!" And I was pleased that he liked my super-secret idea. But that's when it first occurred to me to do a Google search for "tree portraits."

Trees have personality! Character! They communicate. And they are immensely beautiful. And to attempt to capture their beauty and form by constructing an enormous backdrop and then photographing the solitary tree – as if in a studio, but still out in the middle of nature – well. There you have it. My secret creative project idea. Laid out to you before it's even been done...er...except that...It HAS been done.

A quick internet search brought me to the Tree exhibition at Yossi Milo Gallery, and there I saw these wonderful photos by Myoung Ho Lee that I wish I had taken. Here was my own idea, already executed - beautifully - by a South Korean gentleman just 4 years my senior. I was devastated. AND. To make matters just a little bit worse, I realized the show was last year, right here in New York. I could have gone.

I don't know. I guess I'm being overly dramatic. I'm just sad I'll never be able to see this project through and get credit for it. Or, maybe I'll do a similar project some day - but would it be seen as copyright infringement? Whatever. You heard it here first. I had the idea before I saw his work, though it will never seem original to the world. Oh well.

This has NOT kept me from truly appreciating the beauty of Mr. Lee's photography. I love it. Read more about it here.

Bravo, fine sir. Your trees are lovely.

Nature's Craftperson

Ok, now it's chilly here, and finally feels like autumn. This little tree looked so whimsical today in the sunny breeze I just had to show you all. It seemed to me that someone had strategically Scotch-taped fake paper leaves to a bare tree skeleton. Seriously! Look at this leaf:


Mother Nature got a bit carried away with the hole-puncher.

Leaning Tree

Here's a leaning beauty. This one actually caused me gasp in wonder as I was driving along, and I don't think I captured it in the photograph. But it was just so interesting and crooked and wonderful. Why is it reaching? I don't know. Most trees on the side of the road stick to the side of the road. But not this guy. It KNOWS something. I just can't figure out WHAT.

I like trees that lean.

Creepy tree

Here's today's "makes-me-feel-like-I'm-in-a-scary-movie" tree.

City tree

As much as I love the thought of urban life, there is something sad to me about trees in the city. They don't have the fresh air that country trees get to breathe, and I assume they can't spread their roots as easily because of the buildings and streets and sewers and everything else below street level. They always seem a little lonely and resigned, and tired. The incessant city noise must be tiring if you are a tree.

Yet, as I am planning a move to Brooklyn next year, perhaps I should begin to view city trees differently or I will undoubtedly become terribly depressed.

Looking again at my little tree friend above, I believe I can see a determined strength in it's young branches. I imagine it finds great joy in reaching as high as it can to find the sun's rays that are frequently blocked by the tall buildings. I think I would probably actually be quite pleased to come upon this little tree again when I move to NY and perhaps it's not as sad as I once thought. I certainly hope not.

Secret gardens and church yards.

Some of the best trees have a backdrop of an old chapel or an ancient cemetery. This little beauty is situated in a lovely garden just outside the National Cathedral. The garden has a certain nostalgia about it, as many gardens do, and there are a few hidden areas along stone paths that make it feel quite like a secret garden. Perhaps one day I'll have a large garden in my back yard with a stone pool and fountains and trees and secret paths.

I'd expect to see a tree with this type of personality to be much, much older and wiser. It looks almost too small and thin to have such ancient looking, gnarled branches. It's like when you see a baby and it looks just like an old man. An old man in the body of a small child. It's sort of creepy.

On trees and grape leaves.

This curious creation can be seen in the Cornell Plantations Arboretum in Ithaca, NY. Home, sweet, home. Gorges. Just gorgeous. I like the stringy spaghetti-like things hanging from this tree, and the wide flat leaves that remind me of grape leaves...which, incidentally, are one of my favorite things to eat from the local Mediterranean deli (stuffed, that is). SOOOO good.
This is a personable tree, don't you think? It looks clumsy and a little confused or sad, but funny. Dr. Seuss would probably approve. Definitely.

a truffula tree, perhaps?

Some of my all-time favorite trees are those created by Dr. Seuss – not a real doctor, but absolutely a genius, as far as I'm concerned. A "Dr. Seuss tree" can't be exactly described, as it is fantastical, but we all know such a tree when we happen upon it in our everyday lives. It will look like it does not quite belong in a world where we take ourselves so terribly seriously. The one above looks like it was transplanted directly off the pages of a Dr. Seuss story, and I have an irresistibly childlike urge to touch it. To squish it. to sit on one of its tufts, perhaps as Horton would have sat upon his nest in another Dr. Seuss tree. I expect that there's at least one Lorax who calls this tree home.

I must not take credit for this photo. It was taken in Switzerland and I discovered it on iStockphoto, which is an amazing stock illustration and photo site that changed my life (or at least my job) once I discovered it. Try it. You won't be disappointed and you won't believe what a dollar will buy.

snowy trees.

I know it's May and we're in the midst of a beautiful spring, and it's currently 82 degrees outside...but I feel compelled to share this magical photo before summer gets any closer. It was taken only 2 weeks ago near Ithaca, NY. There was almost a foot of snow and it felt like Narnia. The trees were heavy, peaceful, and immensely beautiful.

Trees covered in thick, fluffy snow is definitely on my list of favorite things to look at in this world. Who doesn't like fluffy white trees?