Gnarled Tree Limb

Nikon D810, 200mm, ISO 200, 1/8 sec, f/2.8

Instead of taking the bus from one scenic overlook to another, walk the Rim Trail. After catching sunrise at Hopi Point, I walked the Rim trail to Mohave Point. Along the way I came upon this tree, and many like it. Be careful tho! On the right edge of the image you can see the drop-off into the canyon. Note that there are no fences to keep you from backing over the edge while seeking that perfect composition.

For this image I used a long focal length to compress elements in the composition. This made the background trees appear closer to the tree limb than they would with the naked eye. I also used a large aperture to blur the background. Well, that was the plan. In reality the background was not as blurred as I would have liked. To increase background blurring, I used Photoshop’s Blur Background Quick Action to add to the blur effect. This created five layers, adding depth to the image. There is the subject gnarled limb, the green fir tree immediately behind the line, the trees behind the fir, the faraway fir tree, and the terrain on the right side.

Gnarled Tree on the Rim Trail: 36.073888° -112.155087°