Sometimes the loveliest composition is the most simple. This photograph of the mossy trunk of a fallen water oak (Quercus Nigra) was taken in the Nocatee Preserve south of Jacksonville, Florida. The day was extremely overcast, and the photographs that I came to take were not turning out as I had hoped.
I saw this tree lying astride the path, and I took a dozen or so photographs of it from various angles. As I was leaving, I decided to put my macro lens on to see what I could capture with the lens and ring light setup that I use. I took a few test shots of the tree, with the aperture as far open as it could go, and I did not think anything of them until I returned home to see what had turned out.
Life is often like this, recognizing the beauty only in hindsight. This is by no means my most treasured photograph, but it is special insofar as it was a happy accident that reminds me never to dismiss even the most mundane subject. With the right angle and eye, most anything can turn into art, even a dime-a-dozen fallen water oak in the middle of a North Florida swamp.
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ST. AMAND PHOTOGRAPHY 