Posted on by Anne Sandler · 9 Comments

Lens-Artists Challenge #112: Word challenge

This week Ann-Christine challenged us with words: Comfortable, Growing, Tangled, Crowded and Exuberant. Our assignment was to choose one or more of these words and display our photo interpretation.

I saw growing and crowded and instantly my mind went to Big Basin Redwoods State Park in Boulder Creek, one of our beautiful parks consumed by the CZU Complex lightening fire this month. I visited in February, 2016. It was my first time shooting in a dark forest and although my current forest efforts are better, I wanted to show you Big Basin.

As you can see, these trees are no strangers to fires. Redwoods can be almost hollowed out and still survive. After the fire is put out, the top continues to grow. My mind went to Big Basin because it is crowded with trees and constantly growing. The ground brush is usually well maintained in parks so they don’t provide super fuel for fires. But dry lightening strikes and thunder brought the forest to its knees. Here is how it looked in 2016 on overcast day, with some re-editing.

While the redwoods will survive, structures within the park didn’t. I’m sure during these pandemic days, rebuilding will be slow and it will be some time before we can walk through this beautiful forest again.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 4 Comments

The long, long, long mile: Big Basin Redwoods State Park

How long does it take three photographers to walk a flat one mile loop through the Redwood Trail at Big Basin Redwoods State Park in Santa Cruz County, California? Answer: Almost four hours!

No excuses! It was a beautiful trail through a forest of expressive trees, and there was a lot for me, Marlene and Nicci to shoot.

Coastal redwoods (different from its relative the Sequoia) are found from southern Oregon to central California. Needing the coast weather they extend no more than fifty miles inland. These trees can reach 115 m (377 ft) tall. The bark can be very thick, up to 1-foot , and is soft and fibrous. When freshly exposed there is a bright red-brown color that gets darker as the tree is exposed to the elements. Its roots are shallow, wide-spreading and lateral. Redwoods are naturally resistant to insects, fungi, and fire because they are high in tannin and do not produce resin or pitch.

I remember when my children were young and we camped in a grove of coastal redwoods in Northern California. We went to a campfire program, but I left my flashlight at camp. I was good at walking by starlight, but the forest was so thick, we couldn’t see in front of us. Once I found a family who was walking back to the same campground, we followed them. I’ve never assumed that I could walk via moon and star lights again!

As for what lessons we learned:

  1. Always carry in your tripod. The forest is dark!
  2. Use a fast lens.
  3. Pack a lunch. Don’t count on a fast visit. Fortunately we brought snacks, and the cafe had a limited amount of lunch items.

Take a look at why it took us so long to walk that mile!

It was an overcast day. At the widest angle I had with me, I couldn’t get the entire tree in the shot!
A fallen tree’s root system. So beautiful.
A close look at the bark. You can see moss and lichen growing on it. There is also a burn spot.
The sun poked through the clouds.
Close up of a burl on a tree. Fungi and moss help create the colors.
Another downed tree. There was no way for me to get the entire tree in the shot.
The same downed tree. This part of the bark looked like feathers to me.
Some more lichen and moss living on the bark.
A burl on a stately tree.
I just wanted to throw in a black and white image.
Damaged by fire, this tree is still healthy. You can walk in and look up!
Just for a little perspective!
We weren’t the only visitors on the trail, but we took the longest time.
A fungi growing on the ground.
The path.
On our way out, we stopped and shot in the rain. No cameras were damaged.