Randy Bell
October 2026 - General Grant Tree
About the Image(s)
In May, I went with my local camera club to Kings Canyon National Park. I have had difficulties
in the past getting photos I liked in this park, mainly due to the enormous size of these giant
sequoia trees. I never seem to get the right point of view to capture them very well. This trip, I
tried to take more photos straight on with the trees to get a different perspective, to show the
difference in size between these trees and other trees nearby.
I would welcome your thoughts and/or suggestions on any improvements. Later in the day, I
used a longer lens and was happier with my results with that lens. I used my Nikon D810 on a
tripod with a 24-70mm lens at 40mm, f/11, 1/2 sec, ISO 100.
5 comments posted
Hi Randy -
I share your frustration about photos of trees - especially enormous ones. It's tough to capture the magnitude of scale along with the intricacies of the bark and branch formation. That said, your photo helps with the tree to the left of the massive trunk of General Grant. I might lighten shadows a touch to give a glimpse of the concave section of the base.
For fun I just cropped down to the base - which to me resembles an elephant foot to some degree.
Thank you! Posted: 10/04/2026 11:47:31
I share your frustration about photos of trees - especially enormous ones. It's tough to capture the magnitude of scale along with the intricacies of the bark and branch formation. That said, your photo helps with the tree to the left of the massive trunk of General Grant. I might lighten shadows a touch to give a glimpse of the concave section of the base.
For fun I just cropped down to the base - which to me resembles an elephant foot to some degree.
Thank you! Posted: 10/04/2026 11:47:31
Randy,
The main problem with your image is that the viewer's eye is drawn to the lighter areas in the photo .... the trees in the background. The big tree gets lost in the dark. I did a bit of masking and added light to draw the viewer's attention to the big tree. Posted: 10/04/2026 16:23:41
The main problem with your image is that the viewer's eye is drawn to the lighter areas in the photo .... the trees in the background. The big tree gets lost in the dark. I did a bit of masking and added light to draw the viewer's attention to the big tree. Posted: 10/04/2026 16:23:41
Posted: 10/04/2026 23:42:07
Hi Randy,
This is a toughie. I downloaded your image to try different crops. I did not find one I like better. but I did find an animal face in the trunk :) Posted: 10/04/2026 23:44:20
This is a toughie. I downloaded your image to try different crops. I did not find one I like better. but I did find an animal face in the trunk :) Posted: 10/04/2026 23:44:20
Randy, General Grant Tree is huge! I see your challenge. You captured the enormity of the trunk and detail of the bark nicely. To focus on size I experimented with cropping to highlight just two trees. I like the color and detail of your composition.
Posted: 10/09/2026 20:55:18
Posted: 10/09/2026 20:55:18