CraigBILL

This Japanese Maple tree is a famous and elusive photo subject. Found in the heart of Portland, Oregon, this tree looks really big in most pictures. But it is tiny. Its proportions in a picture fool you into thinking its a towering tree. In reality, its maybe 8 to 10 feet high. But what it lacks in height it makes up for in age. Some of the locals say this little tree is up to 80 years or older!

I visited this tree during the previous fall and captured it a fleeting yellow color. On this visit during the Spring, I found this tree to look more like what I thought it would look like in Fall... Although the reds can be brighter in the Fall, the color at this time was fantastic! The previous photograph, “The Golden Age” was captured during cloud cover and some drizzle... but in this photograph, “The Wishing Tree”, the Sun was fully uncovered. I was apprehensive about the range of contrast in this set up. It did take some adjusting and trials to “tell” the camera what otherwise it wanted to do or recommend. And using a very wide angle lens, I finally twisted into position to compose an unusual vertical photograph of this photogenic little tree.

The “Wishing Tree” reminds me of fantasy realms found in fairy-tale books - where elves, sprites and unicorns call home!