The Lone Tree

The "lone tree" shot.  I was watching a video recently with a cheeky title like "photography cliches that must die" or something similar, and the "lone tree" shot appeared on the list.  I didn't think much of it at the time, but after a while it worked its way back into my mind, and I wondered for a moment - is it a cliche?  That quickly passed, replaced by what I thought was a more important idea - does it matter?

I don't think it matters.  I could say something along the lines of a cliche is a cliche for a reason - because it works.  But that would stray from my main thought.  I think the only thing that matters is that I continue to photograph things that catch my eye and continue to keep pushing myself to get better.  Thinking about the "lone tree" shot did prompt me to go through my files and look for examples I had on hand.  Some of those, along with brief explanations of where I was or what I was thinking at the moment (or both) follow...

Plaza Blanca, which Georgia O'Keeffe called "The White Place" and painted on several occasions, is located near Abiquiu, New Mexico.  After walking down the hill to where a dry creek bed bisected the area, I saw this lone cottonwood tree, its yellow leaves shimmering in the early morning sun. The golden leaves really stood out against the cool blue early morning sky...

The same morning at Plaza Blanca we (my wife and I, who was along for the hike) followed the creek bed, and as we rounded the corner, I saw this tree and noticed the contrast between the early morning light in the leaves against the white box canyon walls...

One morning while driving through north-central Arizona, I decided that I wanted to take a quick detour to Seligman, Arizona, to take in a little Route 66 nostalgia.  The morning was cool, and a thick fog blanketed the landscape.  This tree stood out against the grey of the morning...

Capital Reef National Monument, located in south-central Utah, was intended to be a quick stop on the route from Zion National Park to Moab, but my wife and I were quickly drawn in by the unexpected beauty of the area.  Given that we were in southern Utah, an area known for its unrelenting natural beauty, it should have been anticipated.  But, even after having been to Zion and Bryce Canyon National Park in consecutive days, the beauty of the area was remarkable.  Before checking into our hotel for the evening, we spent some time looking around, and soon I saw this juniper tree, with the overcast skies and red rocks in the background...

This was taken last winter while driving down a country road over La Bajada Mesa, north of Los Cerrollos, New Mexico.  I liked how the look of the tree, lying dormant in winter, matched the muted winter landscape...

This shot was taken at Junction Overlook on the North Rim of Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Arizona.  With the sun still high in the afternoon sky, I decided to incorporate  the tree's shadow in the foreground and stopped down my lens to f22 to get a starburst from the sun near the top of the frame...

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, located about 40 miles southwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, is a place I've visited on several occasions (and blogged about as well).  A trail leads through a slot canyon and works its way to a lookout above, where hikers can look back down into the canyon.  When hiking through the slot canyon a few weeks ago I saw this tree high on the canyon wall, which seemed to flourish despite its seemingly precarious hold...

I'm tempted to end with another cliche: every picture tells a story.  Or, every tree tells a story...

Nikon D7000, lenses, from top - Nikkor 10-24 DX (first two), Nikkor 18-55 DX (next four), Nikkor 16-85 DX VR (last shot)

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