Bristlecone Pines are among the oldest living things on earth, some in excess of five thousand years. They grow extremely slowly at altitudes in excess of eight thousand feet, where the winter winds sculpt the branches into fantastical shapes. Little else survives in this challenging environment. After the soil erodes and some of the roots are exposed to air, that portion of tree dies, but the dense wood remains for hundreds, sometimes thousands, of years.
I had spied this magnificent specimen on a previous visit and I thought I'd try to photograph it in the first few minutes after sunrise. I left the campsite at 2:30, drove too fast for an hour on the worst washboard road ever, hiked a half hour, set up my tripod and waited. Fortunately, there were no clouds on the horizon.
The "Golden Hour" sunlight gives the wood a rich golden-red hue that enhances the intricate wood patterns.
Bristlecone Pines are among the oldest living things on earth, some in excess of five thousand years. They grow extremely slowly at altitudes in excess of eight thousand feet, where the winter winds sculpt the branches into fantastical shapes. Little else survives in this challenging environment. After the soil erodes and some of the roots are exposed to air, that portion of tree dies, but the dense wood remains for hundreds, sometimes thousands, of years.
I had spied this magnificent specimen on a previous visit and I thought I'd try to photograph it in the first few minutes after sunrise. I left the campsite at 2:30, drove too fast for an hour on the worst washboard road ever, hiked a half hour, set up my tripod and waited. Fortunately, there were no clouds on the horizon.
The "Golden Hour" sunlight gives the wood a rich golden-red hue that enhances the intricate wood patterns.
