Swamp Photos

Attila

That is a beauty indeed. Thanks for sharing.

I agree with you about David. He seems to be emerging as a very talented artist.


Regards,
Attila

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Attila

Just looking a Vaughn Banting's tree, I am trying to grasp what do I see and like in it. It has a lot of grace and timeless beauty.


The usual ones with massive trunks have power, but very little grace. Most of the time they look like clumsy giants.

Maybe David can fill in the gap for B/Cs with grace and some horsepower.

grampz

Mr. David, What wonderful photos...I think it would be safe to call several of these 'ART'...Even in this group...Thanks for sharing them...Brings back many fond memories...If you have more I would appreciate seeing them also...I also look very much forward to seeing your work with this speices [My favorite tree]



Mr. Carl, I have admired this tree for many years, and have several photos of it saved on my hard drive...Unfortunately I have never had the opportunity to see it in person and probably never will...I have always wondered about the size of this tree...Could you give me some sort of guess as to the height and trunk diameter at the soil?...Thanks in advance, and for sharing this beautiful tree once again...

Regards
Behr

David Chauvin

The other tree in Carl's thread is the work of Guy Guidry, the artist who pioneered much of what has been done with bald cypress. He is best known for the "redwood" form, but this is a misnomer, because cypress in nature do grow in this form. (an example is shown in this post). The iconic flattop is what most people visualize when cypress is mentioned. I like both and would think both are equally valid. But I still love the flattops best.

Last one, I promise. "High and Dry"

Best Regards,

David

Attached Images

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"With the death of the Shamen, artists are the last interpreters of the Divine." Joseph Campbell

RonMartin(deceased)

While I like the tree Carl posted it just doesn't say bald cypress to me. Well maybe it says a young one.
Could be I am just used to seeing the old massive ones in the swamps around here.
Most of the visual power in a BC is in the fluted base of the trunk. This one just doesn't have it.
Mind you I like the tree. Wished it were in my collection. It just doesn't evoke the power and majesty of an ancient BC. To me at least.

Attila

I think the tree in question shows the image of a tree seen from far away.

When you stand close to one of these trees, the trunk base is very powerful indeed. Most of the bonsai depict this powerful trunk base, and rightly so. However, you can also show the silhouette of a B/C as seen from a few hundred feet away, in which case the fluted trunk base loses its prominence and the overall silhouette becomes the main theme.

I think that's the case with Vaughn's tree. It is not a close-up view but a far away wiew.

Regards,
Attila


Edit: This far away view is similar to the concept of a forest planting. To observe a forest, you don't want to stand in the middle of it. Instead, you show the trees as seen from far away, and so the individual trunks become much thinner than in the case of the traditional look.

RonMartin(deceased)

I did not say that I didn't like the tree. Just that it doesn't say cypress to me. Not even as a distant view.
But I do agree with you that there are all kinds of different views to recreate. And some forest plantings do show a distant view. But if one follows the "conventional" wisdom (and I don't necessarily) of putting the taller trees in the front and the smaller ones in the back then that is not a distant view. It would be much the same as you would see when setting in the middle of that forest. A distant view of a forest would have some smaller, younger, trees in the front.
I am finally getting around to putting something together on forest plantings. That means I will have to do several of them in order to show all the normal views that one could see. Doing the plantings will be a lot of fun but putting words to the pictures will be a bit of a chore.

Attila

You are right, if the big trees are in front, that's a closer view of the forest. Then, there is the more distant one with some small ones in front.

It is very interesting to play with the different views and angles in bonsai. I noticed that the average person pays little attention to this detail, but I find it a lot of fun to play with different perspectives and angles.