1 tree, 1 year
1 year ago I decided I would try rerouting my photography towards a more meaningful kind to me. I set out to new places and unsurprisingly I discovered new things. There is one specific spot that I knew was special and which I knew I would come back to many times. Even the location felt exclusive, slightly lower than the main trail, it is hidden from view, so most hikers probably don’t know about it.
I won’t describe it, here is my favorite tree:
There is so much I love about this place, how the sunset hits the tree and its base, how intricate the texture on the rock is, the view to the sea, and of course the perfect shape of that tree and its position on top of that minor ridge.
Now it may have been love at first sight but it didn’t mean it was an easy composition. Our eyes are very forgiving of small imperfections but cameras are a lot less. Here the major issue was that if shot at eye level, the ridge at the back “chops” the top of the tree. It felt similar to portraits where a horizon line is behind the subject’s neck.
So I had to extend my tripod fully and raise it at full arm's length above my head to solve that problem. As my phone’s battery had died and my screen doesn’t rotate to that specific angle (thank you, Nikon!) I had to guess my framing... it took a long time to get an acceptable result but in the end, I managed to reach what I wanted. Needless to say that afterward, I carried my power bank to make sure I could use that Nikon app/remote shooting!
This shot was taken during a relatively calmer moment between two ravaging summer wind and rain surges. The back isn’t fog, it’s simply a downpour that will reach my position a minute later and what a deluge it was!
This rainy summer picture was an epic moment for me. But, aside from the euphoria of shooting in a combination of strong wind and rain, this shot taught me three things.
The first was that the rock formation the tree is resting on is, actually, just as interesting as the tree itself. At the moment, with my view limited by my viewfinder I couldn’t see that, afterward though, I finally understood that the main interest of this place wasn’t the depth of the landscape but the very foreground.
The second is a corollary, the toughest part of creating good images isn’t camera or processing skills, it is being able to mentally take a step back in the heat of the action, look again at your scene and recognize what is indeed in front of you that is worthy of being shot and how to shoot it. And that can be very hard, especially in chaotic environments. Something I need to work on earnestly.
The third was how much I have missed subdued photos. Seoul is such a vibrant city, constantly bright and loud that I let myself be influenced by its general vibe. However, taking a good look at this frame I concluded that, inside, I yearn for simplicity and quietness, all those brought by fog. I would have to come back during heavy atmospheric conditions.
As if the elements had been listening to my internal wishes, they granted me a winter with several snowfalls.
This shot is my favorite. I love how the tree stands out in front of the snow cloud, how the rocks, though covered in snow, still retain their complex appeal. Also, despite the snowstorm, it looks so peaceful, precisely what I had been longing for.
Though most people wouldn’t go up a mountain during an unrelenting snowfall, it was actually my favorite experience of this whole series (and my favorite conditions in which to hike). Though it appears as if it is a tumultuous storm, it was the most peaceful time to be up there. Since snow silenced sounds from the city, animals, including humans, were hiding away from the weather and wind wasn’t blowing, it was as noiseless as a voice recording studio. A time perfectly designed for contemplation and respite of the soul.
After feeling success with the previous shot I fell short with this one. First I forgot my power bank and my phone died while hiking up so no remote shooting would help me frame this composition. I shot around 50 bracketed attempts. All missed the mark. This one is at eye level, with the treetop cropped by the ridge. The other failure is that the sunset is certainly interesting and the incredible amount of pollution dust creates some contrast with the foreground but since my composition is wrong none of it aligns to create a good image. 1 year is certainly enough time to fail and so to learn.
Skip forward a few months and spring is just around the corner. In the luckiest twist of fate, one morning that my father-in-law and I had planned on hiking, thick fog enveloped the mountain. Fog without rain isn’t a common occurrence so I had to take advantage of it, here is the result:
The fog was so thick even the tree starts fading. The whole scene was otherworldly, the tree is so close actually but looked so far. I fully love the shape of that tree, standing proud, unchallenged in front of the uniform background. Just as with the snowstorm shot I can’t help but feeling that this framing is a more powerful one, modestly focused on what matters: the rocks and the tree. Lessons from this year have been learned and practiced, I am en route, on the path I’ve always wanted to walk.
Eventually, spring manifested itself to close this 1-year cycle. Azaleas are one of the earlier flowers to bloom up here, even before leaves grow. I hoped for some pink spots sprinkled along the rocks. Well yes, there are some but you’ll have to zoom in to see them! This place is just not a spring hot spot. It has other things going for itself though:
That sunset light did help create welcomed separation and warm lining on the tree. It also helped emphasize the color contrast with the cool colored lichen covering the stone.
One year has come and gone. I have met a wonderful life form that anchored down at a wonderful location. I have witnessed the beauty and subtlety of seasons and weather. I have learned patience and commitment. I have leaned further into my skill. I have learned a lot about myself and my photographic taste during this year and thanks to this tree. It will remain a personal milestone to me.
I wish you the same development in your life.
As a bonus, I leave you with an extra sunset shots from another angle showing you that this tree is actually 2 trees.
Thank you for reading my latest post, I hope it inspired you to build long term personally meaningful projects.
I leave you the alltrails map of this hike if you want to visit the tree. Drive all the way up to 염불암 Yeombul Temple in 삼성산 Samseong Mountain, 안양 Anyang. Alternatively, you can take bus 2 from 안양역 Anyang Station or 2-1 from 범계역 Beomgye Station and walk from the last stop. The fastest hike to the tree is hiking the trail you see on the map but the other way around (so going east). The tree’s viewpoint is situated a few meters off/down the trail at the picture point on the map. Also, follow me on instagram @romainphoto_outside for more photography than I can blog about!
Feel free to leave a comment below hiking/photography suggestions and share my blog so that, one day maybe, I can meet you on a hike here!
A bientôt!