This is the final set of images from our California trip last month. We drove through the Santa Ynez hills on Foxen Canyon Road. My objective was to find the perfect oak to photograph. While I don’t believe I found the single most perfect specimen, I can’t deny I found plenty of beautiful candidates. The hills were lush green from the new spring grass. The hills were carpeted in wildflowers. The lupine in particular seem to grow well around the oak trees. The challenge on this trip was to find a giant oak that stood out alone on the hill. There was just enough new growth in the leaves to give each tree it’s vibrancy, but not so much that it hid the magnificent branch structure.

As I photographed these trees, I mostly attempted to isolate the oak trees against the verdant hills surrounding them. This allowed me to better control the viewer’s eye on the tree itself. There was only a time or two that I included the sky in my image. Luckily, I had a dramatic sky that day, so when I did include clouds, it enhanced the overall composition of the image. In this photograph, I did a multi exposure blend to keep the highlights in check, and still bring out the detail in the shadow areas.

This will possibly be my last post for the remainder of the month. I leave for China next weekend for work. I hope to have the opportunity to shoot a few images. Sadly, I’m not on my own schedule and my time with a camera will be limited. At best, I hope to do a little street photography. I’m not anticipating trips into the countryside where I can capture grand landscapes, nor will I be sightseeing at times of the day that will provide magic light. Because this isn’t a photography trip, I will be taking my Olympus kit, which is much smaller and lighter. Every time I switch back to that camera, I face the learning curve once again. I still haven’t gotten comfortable using that gear.