BBM or MBB, eh?

Gallery: LandscapePosted October 30, 2012185 views13 comments

Just to make sure I was not posting some obscene acronym (OMG!) I Googled "BBM" and discovered that the online dictionary had dozens of meanings for these initials, EXCEPT the one that is so familiar to me.

Walking down a trail in the rain, this yellow birch trunk caught my eye, and when I noticed the surrounding leaves of sugar maple and American beech, I immediately thought "BBM"

"BBM" to a forester is "Birch-Beech-Maple" -- a common forest type in the Adirondacks, where I did timber cruises as a young forest biology student.

CORRECTION: Sorry, I guess the correct term would be MBB now, depending on the age of the forester, or it may be a regional difference in our language. It looks like my timber cruising experience from 46 years ago does not agree with modern US Forest Service nomenclature for forest types. I just looked it up, and they are now calling it "Maple-beech-birch." HOWEVER, in a few decades, it will probably be "MBB, eh?" because climate change is pushing this colorful forest type out of the USA, and into Canada! (See a series of forest type prediction maps to see where to find fall color in a few years.)

Canon 5DII
Canon 24-105L IS
1/50 sec. @ f/5.6; ISO 640
Hand-held

Comments

13 comments

Comment posted by John Williams on October 31, 2012 at 12:36 AM

The diagonal of leaves across the trunk and the texture of the bark look good here Wayne. Nice to know what BBM really means.

Registered on September 6, 2007, 221 Posts, 5985 Comments

Comment posted by John&Patty Benway on October 31, 2012 at 5:40 AM

You know Wayne, you captured this little scene beautifully, but more so, I really like the plesant mood, it makes me want to grab my camera and head for the woods, unfortunately I cant today, I like this very much. Beautifully seen and presented.
John & Patty

Registered on May 12, 2006, 626 Posts, 8700 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on October 31, 2012 at 9:41 AM

This is excellent Wayne. I love shots like this in the rain and they don't get better than this. The detail and texture this has is wonderful.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by Bob Miller on October 31, 2012 at 1:14 PM

I like the detail and color treatment but the trunk seems a bit too centered to me.

Registered on January 24, 2005, 152 Posts, 405 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on October 31, 2012 at 3:26 PM

Certainly not a flatwoods or Coastal Hammock type!

Looks a bit like a Piedmont type, but probably more of a wetland or creek bottom site? Anyway, a source of nostalgia for me. My career has been almost entirely in pine type and BH associations.

Oh. The image is fine, maybe a tad over-sharpened.

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on October 31, 2012 at 6:54 PM

This is an excellent composition and a beautiful image. The detail is stunning, showing the ribs of the leaves and every silvery nuance of the bark. Wonderful job with this one. I love it

Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on October 31, 2012 at 9:13 PM

ILIBTCSABH--I Like It But The Contrast Seems A Bit High.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Schrayer on October 31, 2012 at 11:03 PM

Wayne, I am always impressed with these kind of images. I often try to look for these kind of scenes when I walk through the forest but I find it very difficult to compose an ordered composition from the chaotic nature of the scenes. I think you have done exceptional work here. All of the elements fit together very well and I really like the color throughout the scene.

Registered on May 28, 2004, 114 Posts, 2890 Comments

Comment posted by Chris Chamberlain on October 31, 2012 at 11:18 PM

Nice combo of things here. The wet luster really looks good!

Chris

Registered on March 13, 2007, 500 Posts, 8365 Comments

Comment posted by Dean Sauskojus on November 1, 2012 at 1:23 AM

The large birch is a perfect object as the base for this image. It has some nice texture and contrasts nicely with the maple and the other leaves surrounding it. Very nice work Wayne! I'm just curious, did you use a polarizer for this image?

Registered on September 29, 2009, 137 Posts, 2659 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Jones on November 1, 2012 at 10:31 AM

Thanks for your comments and suggestions, everyone.

PHIL: It's actually not a wetland plant association, although this forest type covers a lot of upland hills and valleys in the Northeast and Great Lakes states and south into Missouri and Virginia. I just looked it up and I see the Forest Service now calls it "Maple-beech-birch" (if they base that on economic importance, they'll have to put beech at the end soon, since the evil to beech bark scale has hit.) They have a fascinating MAP OF FOREST COVER TYPES online. ANOTHER series of forest type maps shows that this type is on the move, about to leave the USA, due to climate change!

DEAN: I'm pretty sure I did not use a polarizer on this shot, even though I often use one for fall foliage. I shot this at 1 PM on an impromptu walk without my tripod, but it was extremely dark and overcast, raining most of the time. A polarizer would have helped lower the contrast from wet reflections, but I did not want to push the ISO higher for this hand-held shot because I was after the fine details.

Registered on April 18, 2007, 953 Posts, 6435 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on November 1, 2012 at 2:29 PM

You're on a roll Wayne! I love rain soaked saturation. The large version is grand, with loads of detail. Love it.

Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments

Comment posted by Paul Breitkreuz on November 2, 2012 at 10:16 AM

Wayne, great bit of information on the type and plight of the popular trees of the area back there. This is a nice looking vertical shot of this tree trunk and surrounding foliage too. I'm a bit better on geology then botany, but not by much. Just always interested in the facts on the stuff although my retention of the facts is pretty sad for it all.

Registered on February 25, 2006, 525 Posts, 8448 Comments