Pine Cone and Willow
by Phil Pogledich
A small pine cone resting on the sweeping branches of a dead willow along the shore of Snag Lake, Lassen National Park. This little scene really jumped out at me in the field. It's perhaps a bit hard to explain why, but I suppose it comes down to the harmony of the two main elements of the shot, the unlikely (but natural) placement of the cone, and the combination of lines and textures that I think are best showcased in B&W. Hope this is an appealing shot, and I certainly welcome and appreciate your comments and critiques.
Canon 5D Mark II, Tamron 90mm Macro, 1/10 second at f/22 (ISO 100).
Comments
18 commentsthe fisch
Been meaning to comment on this as I think this is terrific. Great find and great job with the b&w. The shadowed bg really helps make the branches stand out and the pine cone, well, makes for a great focal point. Almost looks placed, but we've all come across little found scenes like this and almost always draw our attention.
Nice work.
Lon
Just a word on the placement of the pine cone, partly in response to Lon's comment. The branches in this shot were just a few inches above the ground, and there were several other branches 6-12" above them. I think they helped break the fall of the pine cone and guide it to its resting spot. Also, there were dozens of similar willows (all dead and low to the ground, likely the result of a fire) and many, many pine trees and thousands of cones in the vicinity of this shot. So I actually came across a few similar scenes as I spent some time looking around--I camped in this area for two days--and this wasn't the only pine cone resting on willow branches. Just the most photogenic.