Bear oak unfurling new leaves, Quercus ilicifolia. This was at dusk a few years ago. For some reason I never did anything with the images in this group, probably because they are a little soft in places. But I love the soft light of dusk and the gentle color pallet here. I would love to have a couple of bear oaks as bonsais, but they do not transplant well and probably would not like pot life because of their need to grow a significant tap root. I would never collect one from a wilderness anyway.

This spot in Dolly Sods has special meaning for me. It is the symbolic final resting place for my daughter Erin, who died in 2008, and will be the resting place for my father’s ashes. And, if I can find someone to do it, it will be my final resting place as well.

Did I mention that I was honored by being chosen to exhibit along with a handful of other nationally known photographers (Clyde Butcher, Marc Muench, etc.) who photograph in wilderness areas? This will be the official national celebration of the Wilderness Society for the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Wilderness Act. The celebration will be held in Warren to honor Howard Zahniser, the principal author of the Wilderness Act. For those of you who are local and know my friend and colleague Ed Zahniser, Howard was Ed’s father.

21mm Zeiss Distagon ZE, Canon 5D Mk II, Lr5.5, Ps CS6. After years of using this lens in the ZE and now ZF.2 iteration I am just now learning how to be successful with this extraordinary lens in the landscape. I always avoid ƒ16 like the plague because of diffraction effects. But because this lens is as sharp as a razor in the center and has severe field curvature, ƒ16 is necessary to kind of smooth it all out. It tones down the sharpness in the center a bit and overcomes the field curvature. Unfortunately this image was shot at ƒ8. But I am going to exhibit it anyway, perhaps this fall in the Wilderness Society 50th Anniversary exhibit in Warren Pennsylvania.