Tree

Oak Trees in Winter Storm

Yosemite Valley

Hillside, Merced River Canyon

Wintertime Glow

The glow from a cabin and the full moon provide both warm and cool colors to the night time in Yosemite Valley.

Larch Trees in Autumn Colors

The Blue Mountains stretch across over 4,000 square miles of northeastern Oregon and into Washington state. They are named for the color of the fir and pine trees, but it is the western larch that turns the hills glorious in October. The range for these deciduous conifers is supposedly between 2,000 and 5,500 feet up, but these were well above 6,000. They are found especially in fairly young or fire prone forests from Oregon to British Columbia and east into northwestern Montana.

Blue Mountains Panorama

Larch in autumn colors in "the Blues."

Larch Panorama

Blue Mountains, Oregon

Artistry of Differentiated Form

Bainbridge Island, Washington In summer, this pond in the middle of a forest is covered in a mat of green water plants. On a winter morning, the water's surface is a mirror for the trees.

Forest Floor

Big Leaf Maple Leaves, Bainbridge Island, Washington When the sky forgets to put on a show, the best scenery is often right at your feet.

Dwarf Cypress Forest

Big Cypress National Wildlife Preserve

Autumn Glow

These golden trees stand out like an oasis among the dry grasses of the Badlands. Not far away, the Black Hills were alive with golden color.

Fagus Tree in Autumn Color

Twisted Lakes, Cradle Mountain National National Park, Tasmania

Delicate Restraint

Frosted Maple Leaves, Elwha River Valley, Olympic National Park

God's First Cathedral

Aspen and Beaver Pond, Lundy Canyon, Eastern Sierra The beavers seem to love this area and have made several dams here on Mill Creek. Although the aspen had lost their peak color, I loved the way their trunks reflected in the beaver pond. And there's that one tree still holding its leaves up high.

River of Perceptions

Dry Fork, Two Medicine Creek, Glacier National Park Willows in fall color on the bank of Dry Fork, just before it joins Two Medicine Creek. The flowing water turns the mudstone rocks in the creek bed into a painter's palette in the background.

Touch Of Silence

Larch Trees at Gnome Tarn, Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Enchantment Lakes Though we missed the peak fall color of the larch lower down, they were in dramatic display here at the base of Prussik Peak. The early sunlight perfectly illuminates the far shore on a freezing cold morning.

Autumn Glory

Aspen in Lundy Canyon, Eastern Sierra What a show the aspen put on in Lundy and several other eastern Sierra canyons. They are trees to warm the heart. Taken in the first week of October.

The Forest Is My Cathedral

Lundy Canyon, Eastern Sierra The mingling of yellow aspen leaves, white bark, and the red of the forest floor create quite an artist's palette.

Grace Itself

Ashen in Lundy Canyon, Eastern Sierra

Aspen Along Lee Vining Creek

Lee Vining Canyon, California This creek runs for 16 miles starting above 10,000 feet near Tioga Pass. It flows into Mono Lake, but is one of the streams that has been partially diverted into the Los Angeles viaduct not far from where this photo was taken.

The Secret Rhythm Of The Forest

Aspen, Lee Vining Canyon, Eastern Sierra Some artist must have designed these forest scenes along Lee Vining Creek. What a palette, with some of the leaves still showing green and others fully yellow, plus the red of the underbrush. The show is one of the most glorious scenes I have ever seen.

In The Glorious Forest

Aspen Panorama, Lundy Canyon, Eastern Sierra I combined ten exposures to make this panorama. We have an eight foot wide print of it that enlivens our living room.

Cottonwoods in Zion Canyon

Zion National Park, Utah The cottonwoods line the Virgin River and in early April, were already sporting their new leaves. The light green color is nicely set off by the red canyon walls.

Rhythm Of Tree And Mountain

Court of the Patriarchs, Zion National Park I loved how the silhouettes of the cottonwood trees matched the line of the sandstone cliffs that are named for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Taken just after sunrise in early April. There is an Ansel Adams photo of the Patriarchs taken from near here in 1933.

First Hours

Yosemite National Park Early morning fog accentuates the line of the hills on the approach to Yosemite Valley

Harmony Of Tree And Rock

Taft Point, Yosemite National Park At 7,500 feet, Taft Point is famous for its dramatic views of Yosemite Valley. But I was particularly struck by the sculptural look of the trees, this one growing right by the cliff edge. I thought the rock face of the far cliff made a good background to show off the tree's form.

They Are The Ancient Ones

Patriarch Grove, Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, California This grove is located at the tree line high in the White Mountains. Early morning is a great time to be here, a time when I've had the grove to myself. I liked the gentle softness of this sunrise. The Patriarch Tree here is the world's largest Bridgestone.

An Air Of Antiquity

Patriarch Grove, Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, California The rising sun lit the sky, while I lit the tree with my flashlight. I love these trees for their character and tenacity. They survive where no other trees do, with an annual growing season of only about 45 days. Climate change seems to be affecting these amazing patriarchs, but exactly how isn't clear.

Bristlecone Pine Detail

Patriarch Grove, Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, California The red color of the bark and wood, along with the gnarly growth of the trees, makes for some interesting patterns.

Bristlecone Pine Trunk

Schulman Grove, Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, California Some of these trees have only a very narrow piece of living cambrium that keeps the tree alive. The needles on these trees can last for as much as 45 years -- a testament to the trees' ability to survive this environment.

The Ancient Forest

Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, California The Methuselah Tree, the oldest in the forest, is over 5,000 years old. It started growing around the time of the founding of Troy. Its location is kept secret to protect the tree. I liked the peek-a-boo view of this much younger tree, located in the Schulman Grove about 13 miles from the Patriarch Grove.

Patriarch At Sunset

Ancient Bristelcone Pine Forest, California Even dead bristlecones have interesting shapes. John Muir said the bristlecones were "irrepressibly and extravagantly picturesque, offering a richer and more varied series of forms to the artist than any other species I have yet seen."

Patriarch Tree

Patriarch Grove, Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest When you walk among these ancients, it's easy to imagine them as kindly grandparents. While I walked around waiting for the sun to spotlight the trunk of this tree, I found myself addressing it in my mind as "grandfather."

Patriarch Grove

Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, California There are three species of bristlecones. These are pinus longaeva ("long-lived"), also called the Great Basin or the western bristlecone. Here, the late afternoon sun shows off the beautiful colors of the wood.

The Cool Realms Of The Forest

Pacific Rim National Park, Vancouver Island, British Columbia A gloriously green coastal rain forest.

Ghost Tree Reflections

Flag Pond Nature Park, Maryland I happened upon these trees while exploring around a pond on the eastern shore of Maryland. The bleached white trunks make them look like birches.

Maple Leaves

Ghost Trees

Flag Pond Nature Park, Maryland I came across these trees while meandering around a pond at the edge of a forest. The early sunlight made the tree trunks and the drying grasses glow.

Wild Pacific Trail

Vancouver Island, British Columbia On the western side of the island, the winds shape these shore pines into interesting frames for the rocky shoreline along this beautiful coastal trail near Ucluelet.

Tree Trunk and Salal

Pacific Rim National Park, Vancouver Island, British Columbia

Tree Of Existence

Madrone in moonlight, Bainbridge Island, Washington Called "arbutus" in British Columbia and "madrone" in Washington, Oregon and California, these trees have reddish bark and smooth wood where the bark has fallen away. I think they have a striking architectural quality. Unfortunately, many are dying due to disease. This one at Blakely Harbor died a few years after this photo was taken. It still stands but has lost all its formerly glorious color.

Eucalyptus Forest

Hazard Mountains, Tasmania I love walking among eucalyptus; they perfume the air and provide this kind of interesting architectural form. Sometimes their oils form a light mist in the air. These are growing on a ridge overlooking beautiful Wineglass Bay.

Tree Branches

Japanese maple, double exposure These trees have fascinating structures, and are interesting even when they are bare in the winter.

Trees, Fog, Sunrise

Bainbridge Island, Washington A golden morning at Eagledale Park, a former Nike missile site. There is a nice view of Mount Rainier from here, but not on this foggy morning.

Wind Swept

South Beach, Pacific Rim National Park, Vancouver Island, British Columbia South Beach is a favorite place to sit and look through the small, colorful pebbles along the shore. The waves often make these stones sing. These trees are on the windswept south shore of the beach.

Nature's Japanese Garden

Olympic National Park This bowl above Mink Lake shows off as the understory plants turn red amid the greenery of the trees.

The Glory of the Dawn

The Enchantment Lakes, Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Washington Larch are one of just a few deciduous conifers. These are Western Larch, growing near the top of their range. Though often called Tamarack, they are a different species from Tamarack Larch.

Divine Light of the Mountains

Larch trees in the Enchantments, Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Washington Snow Creek here flows between lakes, over small cascades, and among the glowing larch.

Tree Lover's Paradise

King Billy Pines, Cradle Valley, Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area What a glorious name for these towering trees, named for the last Tasmanian native who died in 1869. The trail through this forest is peaceful and green, bordered by these twisted trees cloaked in moss. Unfortunately, bushfires threaten these ancient trees in other parts of the Tasmanian wilderness.