Fully extended upward over a range of many years. The growth of a stand of Sequoias that together proclaim their being. Their beauty and statue command an observer to take notice in comparison to the rest of tree life in their immediate vicinity. A stand of Sequoias to visit at peace. To contemplate, to read, to photograph, and to pray at a place most welcome.
A finite number of Sequoia trees exist as they grow in the wilderness that hosts them in just the right conditions. While not as plentiful as the sands on the shore of any sea, they are limited nonetheless as a life-form. A purpose that at least testifies of their enormity relatively speaking. Their unique character, shape, and bearing stands out much more prominent as a comparison to other tree creatures of the forest. A lion of the forest, so to speak. Not as a predator, but as a king of the conifer species.
While out exploring Sequoia forests, you’re going to come upon meadows here and there. And sometimes among those meadows are Sequoias that have fallen and lay in open view while in decay. With all of the upright and living trees around them, they are a reminder about the cycle of life. While their centuries of longevity may suggest a life of immortality, eventually they topple under their own weight. Due to natural forces and their shallow root system.
Sometimes you come upon someone or something that stands out. To make an impression, to influence, or to say something of meaning. By its own being, by what it does or what it says, there is a clear purpose. Creation, as it exists, gives full awareness of life, its source, and what it supports.
The difference between a conifer and a tree is that it produces seed-bearing cones. And these Sequoias are conifers that took thousands of years for them to grow at the dizzying heights we see.
The Boole Tree is a lone survivor within the Converse Basin area of Sequoia National Forest. Surrounding it are the numerous exploited Sequoia’s that was logged many years ago.
As the morning mist of Yosemite Valley burns off the trees on the forest floor, you can not help but half expect to smell the odor charred bark or smoke. Here we stand in the presence of three states of matter. Here we see their transformation. It’s evaporation.
A short bit of experimentation with image processing. After learning somewhat more about place and context. To see further what bearing that would have. Rather than capture an image at face value, image processing has much to do with how you feel or sense the experience during the time while in a space of meaning. If there isn’t anything felt or valued, the composition and meaning can become flat or merely about technique. What you love and have passion for becomes lost in the repetition.
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