Reconstructing trees

"The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see Nature all ridicule and deformity, and some scarce see Nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, Nature is Imagination itself." William Blake



These days autumn is really showing off here in Abruzzo, with the foliage-cliché at its best. I went out photographing my beloved beech forest and experimenting with stitching together multiple images of nice, old trees. It forces yourself to analize the complexity and harmony of each plant. This is a technique first used for photographing giant sequoias by James Balog, then recently also by Michael "Nick" Nichols. I must say it works and I love to reconstruct big trees from pieces: it is fun like solving a puzzle...

P.S. I built this from 9 horizontal images. The resolution is amazing, now let's see how the prints look like...

Echoes of autumn

"He not only lives in the wild, wild woods and moors - he grows out of them, as the oak grows from the ground. The noble stag in his pride of antler is lord and monarch of all the creatures left to us..." (Richard Jefferies)



As the light of summer gives way to the clouds of autumn, in the mountains is the time of the Red deer.
The alpine prairies of the Apennine, golden of sunburned grass, host the traditional arenas of the deer rut.
Dozens of large stags confront themselves, then, all day long for the supremacy of the female herds.
And, while battles are rare, the wild sound of the males bellowing echoes continuosly at dusk along
mountain ridges and valleys.

November - Can't see the forest for the trees

“Always watch where you are going. Otherwise, you may step on a piece of the Forest that was left out by mistake.” (Winnie the Pooh)



I have always found forests to be one of the most challenging subject for landscape photography. The more old, complex and beautiful the forest, the more the effort in framing a clean composition in the prevailing chaos and thus obtain effective images. This, together with the fact that I am 99% an open land type –a mountain, steppe, desert lover, doesn’t easily drag me into the woods with my camera. Still, it seems that this year fortunes of life are forcing me more and more to photograph under the tree canopy...

Earlier this year I was roaming free in the Tatra mountains of Slovakia for the multimedia conservation project „Tichà“ and I was first introduced to the most pristine forest in the area. An incredible anarchy of gigantic Arolla pines, Spruce and Rowan trees growing, dying and rotting in a perennial cycle. Bear tracks through the mosses covering all the forest floor. No sound nor sign of human activities. Not a single clan patch where to move freely nor an easy pattern to compose a picture. A moving wilderness dream and a true nightmare for a photographer. (A new gallery of my latest images from Slovakia has been recently uploaded on the project website: www.tichawilderness.com

Another forest, another country. The last weeks saw me now living and working full time in my new/old house in Abruzzo, mountainous region in Central Italy, dealing with renovation works while trying to catch up with old friends and the beloved wild places of my childhood. Doing research and scouting areas for new images, I was very excited to find out that some 50 km from my place, in almost unknown valley of a nearby National Park, scientists recently found what turned out to be the oldest beech forest of Europe. Protected by the surrounding mountains and the steep nature of the place, and due to a particular microclimate, some trees managed to grow here for more than 500 years! Besides the the wild and obvious appeal of the place, with trees literally covered by lichens and mosses and the feeling of being in a sacred place, I still have to get an image which could reflect the mood and essence of it. The picture(s) I have chosen for this month POTM represent two humble attempts to portray this incredible forest. More to come.

Another forest, another country, another continent. By the end of the month I will be „on assignment“ (first time!) in SW Ethiopia to photograph an highly endangered mountain rainforest ecosystem, where still grow wild specimens of Coffee, thrive monkeys and hunt leopards. I will be back home before Christmas and hopefully with many new images and stories to post.

October is for Cranes!

"The earth, like the sun, like the air, belongs to everyone - and to no one." (Edward Abbey)

As it has already been for the last three years, mid October in North-East Germany means to me one word: "CRANES!"
Indeed, as these beautiful large birds lead their autumnal migration toward Spain, they stop and gather in some traditional and quite well-known resting places along their way. One of these sites is in the area of Linum, a little village less than one hour drive from my apartment in Berlin. Trying to record on my pictures the spectacle of thousands of cranes (this year probably more than 80.000 in the peak day!) and wild geese taking off in the early hours of the day and flying against the faboulous morning sky just few meters above my head is an addiction I can barely control, and which keeps me waking up at 5am and drive 70km every day at least for a couple of weeks since the year 2005.
While being right at the roost site in the ponds is strictly forbidden and requires a special permission, it's nevertheless well possible to witness the morning take-off from many areas close to it, taking pictures of the flocks without disturbing this sensitive species. My favourite location is from an old country road, where, concealed by a camouflage net, I can photograph the birds quite close and enjoy the observation of many other charismatic species as well, such as the White-tailed eagle, Rough-legged buuzzard and the Great grey shrike among others.

Despite the fact that the European crane (Grus grus) is probably and reasonably one of the most beloved and photographed bird species in the Continent, I think it is still well worthwhile to be at their presence with my camera equipment, playing with long shutter speeds and light to obtain something different and maybe more close to my own personal perception of the animal itself. A unique bird the crane, which, while projecting its unmistakable silhouette against the golden dawn clouds and calling in the mist with its typical trumpet-like call, truly represents the realisation of my deepest longing for wilderness.