Winter Trees I

Each year, I venture out into the winter weather to photograph the trees. If I'm lucky, I can do so with a little sunshine to help me on a day when the winter winds take a day off. Snow sometimes intrudes, but can be of assistance when the light is right. High thin clouds can be useful. But, like the old joke about fishing ("they don't call it catching for a reason"), it not the successful photographs that define a successful day out photographing. To me, photographing winter trees is therapy for a desk-bound soul, a chance to breathe fresh, crisp air, a glimpse at the world unsheltered by insulated homes and the modern conveniences — which I always appreciate even more after I return from a day in the rain and snow.

For many years now, I've thought about producing an annual folio of winter trees — a simple celebration of these magnificent stalwarts of nature. This first folio begins the series.

This folio consists of five images — admittedly, some of the best images from years of photographing winter trees. I've "culled the archives" to start this series of folios with an opening crescendo. Four of the five images in this folio I've offered as individual prints, too. None has been included in a folio before this.