Another Long Term Project

Sacred Snags Number One

This image is of a snag that I have photographed since the mid eighties. It is in the Arcata Community Forest, and not far from our property. I first worked with it, and other nearby snags, with my old 4"x5" Korona view camera. One day I intend to scan some of those negatives, and present them here and likely on a gallery wall.

This particular shot was made with the Canon 17mm Tilt/Shift lens on my Canon 5dMII. I used a portable light to paint the snag while the shutter was open. I feel that I am close to getting the image that I am seeking, but there are a couple more things I want to try before I call it a wrap. I am always working on methods that will allow me to photograph in the forest during daylight. The problem I always confront is the contrasting light levels between the trees and the sky. I suppose that I should incorporate some HDR methods.

This particular snag is now only about one-half the mass that it was back in the eighties. When the city logged this area in 2010 the contractor knocked quite a bit of this snag down.