Here’s a picture I just had to show you because it’s one of my all time favorites. “Twisted” is a photograph I took last January while visiting the Hawaiian island of Oahu with Chris and his mom. We had been visiting the Waimea Valley Audubon Center on the north side of the island when I looked up and noticed how interesting the shapes formed by this tree’s twisting trunk and limbs were. Often, I find patterns that look really pretty to your eye don’t always have the same impact in photographs, so I took a just handful of shots of these trees without thinking much of it and hoped for the best.

Back home on my computer, I found this particular shot to be rather appealing, so I converted it to black and white to focus attention on the shapes and patterns of the branches and eliminate the distraction of color. The end result has a lot of impact, I think, and has become one of my favorite photographs ever. I love the way the light peeking in between the clumps of leaves forms little channels that mimic the dark twisted lines of the tree branches. It reminds me of aerial photographs I’ve seen of deltas and of rivers snaking across the African continent. Pretty neat for a rather simple photograph of a back lit tree, don’t you think?

Techs: Nikon D200, 70-200mm f/2.8 VR, 1/80s, f/8, ISO 250.  To order this print, purchase stock rights, or view other photos I have for sale, please visit my website at www.karipost.com.