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Flowers & plants
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Snowdrift by Dan Piech
Every spring, the "Snowdrift" species of Crabapple tree puts on a magical show, blooming with a canopy of brilliant white petals. Shortly thereafter, the namesake of the tree becomes readily apparent as flurries of the radiant blossoms gracefully float to the ground surrounding the tree.
A perfect specimen of one of these Snowdrift trees can be found anchoring the Crabapple Collection in the New York Botanical Garden. My goal was to photograph this particular tree at the peak of its splendor, from directly underneath its idyllic canopy. So, on a pleasantly warm April day, I headed to the garden with the equipment for creating a VAST photo in tow.
As I began preparing the gear under the twisting limbs of the tree, a light breeze picked up, rustling the branches just enough to shower me with falling petals. The thinly overcast sky provided the perfect conditions for a soft, balanced light to fill the scene without casting harsh shadows. Additionally, to my surprise, very few other people were present, allowing me to reverently appreciate the beauty of the moment in relative solitude... read more
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Mementos by Andrew Soria
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Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes: Cropped by Greg Probst
Death Valley is a very large and diverse desert park in eastern California and one of my favorite locations in the park is the ever changing Mesquite Flat sand dunes. As beautiful as the dunes are they are also incredibly challenging to photograph; with high temperatures, wind blowing fine grain sand and an ever growing number of visitors.
On the morning I made this image the dunes were relatively clean of footprints and it was a race against the rising sun. Its only a little over a half mile walk from the parking area to this location but I had forgotten how slow it is to walk in sand and that I needed to be wary of my own footprints. I didn't want to ruin my own image by having them in the frame.
The beautiful flowing lines of the sand and the soft shadows of the pre-sunrise light create some of the most alluring options to work with, so much so that composing an image can be a real challenge. The shadows were changing so fast that I was afraid that from the first frame to the last that the shadows wouldn't line up. I feel fortunate they did and I'm very happy with the results... read more
