POTD

Sequoia Root #4
Sequoia National Park, California
2017

Strong back-light allowed separating this root ball almost completely from its surroundings. An interesting effect, but one that makes it difficult to discern the size of the structure which is probably 12′ across.

Sequoia Root #3
Sequoia National Park, California
2017

Sequoia Root #2
Sequoia National Park, California
2017

Sequoia Root #1
Sequoia National Park, California
2017

When sequoias fall over they expose a massive root “ball”. (Ball is in quotes because it’s really more disk-shaped; quite wide and circular but flat and not very thick given the size of the trees.) They last years, probably centuries and their weathered, ragged features are great for close-in photography.

Enjoy this Thanksgiving Day. Lots to be thankful for around here including all my POTD readers!

Passing a Kidney Stone
Sequoia National Park, California
2017

This rather small, as Sequoia trees go (maybe “only” 10′ in diameter) in intimate contact with a rather large boulder. I’m betting on the tree winning this battle for space.

Root Canal
Sequoia National Park, California
2017

The giant sequoia trees in Sequoia National Park are incredibly big, growing to over 30′ in diameter and 300′ tall. They are so big it’s extremely difficult to truly grasp their full bulk even when you are right among them. For example, I was standing straight up inside a hollowed out downed sequoia when I took this photo. The tree formed a tunnel easily 100 feet long that you could walk through.

As hard as it is to grasp the size of these trees, in my judgement it is simply impossible to depict any significant portion of a sequoia in a photograph no matter how far you stand away from the subject. So I did not even try. Instead I decided to concentrate on close-in shots like this one during my time there.

All There is to See
Sequoia National Park, California
2017

On a clear day, from this vantage point in the Sierras you can see far out across the San Joaquin Valley thousands of feet below. On this day we saw fog, lots of it. It was however quite a dramatic experience as the winds kept pushing streams of fog up against and over the ridge and occasionally even clouding the view of the edge from where I was standing a short distance away.

You Want Fries With That?
Exeter, California
2017

Other than some nice strong afternoon light, there’s nothing particularly dramatic about this scene–unless you’ve just left Montana in the middle of a snow storm and now you’re sitting outside in t-shirt weather. I would not have wanted to be in Exeter a month earlier when it was 105, but the temps were just right in mid-November.

Getting Some Z’s
Sequoia National Park, California
2017

Disturbance
Exeter, California
2017