Collected San Jose Juniper

Ryan_Baker

My wife and I found this juniper, which I'm pretty sure is a San Jose, though not sure in the Rocky Mountains. The main reason I collected it was for the trunk thickness and shape of the lower half of the tree. Obviously, the ends of pretty pathetic, and am not sure what happened to them. However, if anybody could help me with some virtuals, mainly on the branch style of the tree, I'd appreciate it. I am going to be doing some grafting this upcoming spring and am not really worried about the foliage. Thanks!!

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Ryan_Baker

Here is a close-up, sorry for the poor photos. Work with it the the best way you can!!

TreeBay

Hi Ryan,

Here are a couple suggestions for taking better bonsai photos

1) Background

Photograph your tree with a plain background, as uncluttered as possible. For medium or small size bonsai, one of the folding cardboard portfolios that you can find at an office supply for about $5 would be great. They come in black and white and measure about 3x4 feet when opened. They are designed for science fair type projects and made of corrugated cardboard. The one here is called a Project Display Board by Hunt. They make a higher quality one that has foamcore, but it doesn't really matter.
With the distracting window and shadows, it's' a little hard to tell what is tree and what is not.

Add light:

The single camera mounted flash is has a nasty habit of projecting shadows on your backdrop. You can decrease the intensity of the shadow by photographing outdoors in indirect sunlight or shade, and using the flash to provide just a little fill. You can also move the backdrop farther away from the tree. Any shadow will grow in size, but it will also become more diffuse.

Another possibility is to use a pair of utility lights with 12" aluminum reflectors that you can find at any hardware store. Position one on either side of the tree and the shadow behind it will be significantly reduced. If you have the opportunity, use three lights and direct one right at the backdrop from above or below.

If you are planning to post the tree on a webpage, a camera with a lot of resolution isn't critical, but you want it to be sharp and in focus. Step back away from your subject and zoom in if the camera has a zoom lens. If not, you can crop your subject after shooting and still have an acceptable image for a web page. If you get too close to your bonsai subject it can become distorted and unappealing.

Best regards,

Matt

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Walter_Pall

Ryan,

it is very difficlut if not impossible to make a virtual from your pictures. I may try, but you should also try to get a much larger and clearer picture with a neutral background. Take the picture even with the pot, not from above.
There is no San Jose Juniper in nature. It is a garden plant only. It may well be a Sierra juniper or a Rocky Mountain Juniper.

best regards
Walter Pall

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best regards
Walter Pall
http://walter-pall.de
I don't design bonsai, I design trees.
Tradition is not the custody of ashes but the propagation of fire.
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