The Tree Project February 2020.
February.
Tree and Silhouetted Bird.
The anticipation and arrival of Storm Ciara. And then Storm Dennis.
February usually brings unpredictable weather.
Vintage Tree and Silhouetted Bird
The Silhouetted Bird
It’s now early February. The first few days of February started well for my Tree Project. A unexpected detour to our favourite tree gifted me what I expected to be my favourite photo of the month. I noticed a bird swooping down to the tree and I captured its small but striking silhouette. I’m drawn to detail of the wing tips. Usually my bird photos are a blur but not on this occasion.
Although it was still bitterly cold, the sunshine and blue sky brought out the walkers in numbers. I knew that this calm was lulling us all into a false sense of security. February brings unpredictable weather and knowing that Storm Ciara was heading our way was unsettling. Our ancient trees sometimes fall victim to the high winds. I hoped that our favourite tree perched high on the open ridge would gather the strength to survive.
The Calm Before the Storm.
I’m often last-minute posting my projects but I already have some content and we’re not even two weeks into February. Of course, I may find that I have more to add. And if that’s the case then so be it. And the leap year adds an extra day too!
Carrying on with the theme of vintage tones of my earlier photo, on this film I’ve used a mono sepia filter and reduced the strength by around 20%. It displays with a gentle muted hint of colour.
The Storms Have Passed By.
25th February 2020.
Storm Ciara and Storm Dennis arrived in February. They left behind a trail of devastation across the country with high winds and flooding. I feared for our tree exposed to the elements high on the ridge.
We were visited by snow this week but not to the extent that the county grinds to a halt with a covering of a few inches. Certainly not as severe as when we were visited by the Beast from the East in 2018.
In the distance I could see the hillside covered in a blanket of snow. I suspected that our tree would be on the snowlike. In any case I wanted to pay a visit to the ridge before the snow melted. I arrived in the nick of time. The snow was melting before my eyes.
I’m happy to report back that our tree had weathered the recent named storms. There was no obvious damage.
Leap Year.
Still a few days to go until the end of February and the addition of the 29th this year. A further storm is on the horizon.
I enjoy experimenting with vintage film cameras. I have a vague plan to try out different films over the next few months. I think our tree could be an ideal subject.
I took some sample shots with an old Agfa Super Silette camera and the end of a roll of Lomochrome Metropolis. I sent them off for processing knowing that there were some light leaks but I wasn’t sure to what extent. The film had jammed when I rewound it and in a split second and without thinking I opened the cover and expose the film to light.
It was a relief that most of my photos turned out ok apart from the trees at the end of the roll. It’s messy but I really like the end result!
Encaustic Wax Pieces.
Recently I’ve been I thinking about creating some encaustic wax art work inspired by the trees. I’m certain our lone tree will make the perfect subject. I have my eye on a good quality Fuji paper which should work well with the hot wax. I intend to obtain some samples from a local print shop and experiment. I think seasonal collections would be ideal. The process tends to add extra atmosphere to the scene.
And finally some food for thought
Extract from the poem Good Timber.
“Good timber does not grow with ease,
The stronger the wind the stronger the trees
The further the sky, the greater the length
The more the storm, the more the strength,
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In trees and men good timber grow.”
From Good Timber by Douglas Malloch.