Acorns, berries, shadows, lines, stumps, trees, leaves, gnarliness, bokeh and more

I went through another round of exploration of shadows, lines, shapes, leaves, acorns ... and anything else of interest I could find while doing my walk through Yates Mill Pond Park on Wednesday.

I’ve been experiencing a feeling that I used to have in my multiple trips to Garfield Park in Indianapolis while I was living there and indulging in photography for some 20 years or so. And that is, no often how often I returned to a familiar (and favorite) haunt, I always found new, different or variations of a photo subject(s). 

One example is the photo leading off today’s post. I’d never come across these berries until a recent visit a week or two ago. But the plant with berries I came across Wednesday had a better leaf accompaniment. So, I made a picture. 

I didn’t come across a lot of people on the trails as I made my pictures Wednesday. I did pass a few folks before and after I made them, so I felt fortunate about that timing. I don’t like to be someone who impedes a walker or running from pursuing their own pursuits. 

As usual, to bring up a larger version of an image, simply click on the photo. This often helps for people accessing the blog via a mobile device. To view a gallery of all the pictures I made in Wednesday’s shoot, follow the link in this sentence. 

Above and below are different perspectives of the same subject/object. 

Above: This almost-silhouette uplifted my spirits when I first spied it. I felt compelled to make its picture.

Above: A classic gnarly network of tree trunks, branches and limbs. You come across a lot of these in Yates Mill Pond Park. As a result, I decided to compose its orientation in a gnarly-like manner.   

Above and below are two similar (but different) “finds.” As you can tell, I used the left fork for my focal point in the one above. For the one below, I went into portraiture mode on my iPhone 13 Pro and focused on the vertex point.  

Above and below: I used the park’s hiking trail verification emblem for subjects in a few pictures, including these two. The camera is in portraiture mode in the one above. 

The photos above and below are an exercise in using different focal points while in the iPhone’s portraiture mode. The focus above is the end of the limb closest to the viewer; the focal point below is the vertical limb stub in the background. Notice how the bokeh is not as sweet in the one below because the focal point is farther away from the camera. 

I got a two-in-one combo in the above photo, with the subject/focus centered on the striking shadows on the tree trunk. I used the snaking, planked walkway on the left as secondary element. 

Above: Some more tree trunk-and-limb gnarliness going on here. Below, yet another trunk getting doused with a splash of leaf-heavy shadows. 

Above: This might be my favorite tree trunk shadow composition of the day, thanks to some real limbs and leaves intersecting with the shadows to a decent extent. 

Luck and fortuitous timing gave me this pair of tree-trunk leading lines directing the eyes to the bridge in the distance. 

And speaking of fortuity, how incredible it was to find a ground shadow forming an arrow pointing to the right (above) and another shadow forming the letter E (below). 

Above: A distinctive shadow cast on this tree trunk. I couldn’t find the source of the hooking shape at the top, but it sure caught my eye. 

Above and first two photos below: Some more distinctive shadows-on-tree-trunk compositions. 

Above: The combo of silhouetted limb in the center juxtaposed with a limb getting a splash of sunlight just above it made me smile. 

Above: A couple of Ys forming from the same piece of limb. 

Above: Contrasting leaf lighting is aplenty here. 

Above: Just a routine “look upward and see what I might find” shot. 

Above: The sun was highlighting these leaves against a deeply shadowed ground background.

Above: A solitary gnarly timber growth surrounded (if not overwhelmed) by some very vertical and thin growths. 

Above: This is a shot I debated whether to present here. I’m in portraiture mode, with focus on the center section, which was closest to me. But I have a sense the remainder of the plant’s out of focus portion is distracting. 

Above: A mature tree trunk surrounded by its younger, thinner subjects. 

Above: Another portraiture mode feature composition of a stump. 

Above and below: More gnarliness to appreciate ... and perhaps wonder how it all happened. 

Above: This tree root in the middle of the trail path looked to me like a fossilized creature from the ocean. 

Above and first two photos below: I spent a little time Wednesday exploring some more acorn shots. Believe it or not, the first photo below is exactly how I found both the leaf and acorn shell. 

A little color to spruce up the post today, starting with the leaves above, followed by the pond reflection of leaves changing color below. 

Above: Speaking of the pond, I paused to grab the above about three-quarters through the Millpond Trail. 

Above: Finishing with another acorn composition, which turned out brighter than I wanted because I had to boost the shadow slider to bring out some detail in the nut. 

 

Another cornucopia of park photos

I guess I should stop explaining how I don't intend to shoot pictures when I head to Yates Mill Pond Park in Wake County for my almost-daily walk. That was the case Tuesday, but by the time I'd walked 3+ miles, I had taken 122 pictures, most of which were taken in the last half of the stroll. 

I lead with the silhouette because it's one I don't recall doing before at the park. I spent more time exploring close shots and combinations centering on acorns, because I really liked the acorn shots that I came up with for the previous post. I only took four of five on that shoot. This time, it was probably four times that amount. 

But I took other pictures, including leaves, both fallen and still on the limbs. And I grabbed a couple shots of the pond and main boardwalk, as well as a group of geese who happened to be on the short end of the pond, and a heron on the large side. 

The water fowl shots were taken on high zoom with the iPhone 13 Pro, which means the sharpness is suspect. Still, I did my best ... at least with the heron shots ... to steady the phone on the boardwalk railing. 

To view a larger version of an image simply, click on the photo. To view a gallery of all the shots taken Tuesday, follow the link in this sentence. 

Above and first three photos below are closeup shots of different portions of a larger, gnarly tree trunk base, which I show in its entirety in the fourth photo below. 

Above: A most busy confluence of tree trunks and limbs along the Millpond Trail. Below is a closeup of a pine trunk midsection's distinctive exterior patches. 

Above and below: A tree trunk and limbs silhouette with and without the peeking sun being part of the composition. 

Another silhouette (above) and the dark side of a backlit pine cone (below) that I gave maximum shadow restoration treatment in post-processing. 

Above and below: A couple different shots integrating acorns as a primary or equal subject. 

Above and first seven photos below: More variations on an acorn(s) composition. In the eighth photo below, I gave the treatment to a bur from a bur oak.