Friday, October 22, 2010

A tree that defies ... geometry?

While out looking for interesting autumn pictures in Garfield Park in Indianapolis the other day, I was reminded of a shoot I'd wanted to do for some time: a coniferous tree growing at a dramatically unusual angle in the park near Bean Creek just outside the grounds of the Sunken Garden and conservatory. The angle has to be at least 45 degrees.

So, I grabbed my images, trying to get it from every possible vantage point and to include as many landmarks, such as "normal" trees, buildings like the conservatory (in the background in photo above) and even a park pedestrian pushing a child in a stroller so viewers had proper perspective of not only the radical angle but also the size of the tree. This was another occasion when I was glad to have my wide-angle lens (Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5) with me; without it, I'm not sure I could have captured the quite large tree in its entirety -- growing at this angle -- and do it justice. 

You probably noticed the rock with plaque in front of the tree, as did I. Well, um, I did some months ago when I stopped to check it out ... on a day I did not have my camera gear with me. I did not review the inscription the other day when I was there for the shoot, but I'm almost positive it does nothing to explain the unusual-angled tree. As I recall, it mentions some other fact about the park's history.

















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