A couple months ago someone asked me if I could create a large print of a forest interior, with tall trunks and a fern-covered forest floor- which was great because not only am I happy to accept requests (at least to hear them out ), but also forest photos were something I was already wanting to do anyways!   I grew up in the forest.   It’s where my heart still lives.  When I look at vast treeless plains, I feel the same way as I do about the middle of the ocean-  beautiful, yes, but that’s no place to live!  Going into the forest, any forest, is kinda like going home.  So over the next couple months I made a point to venture into the trees with my camera at every opportunity, and was able to shoot scenes in Galliano Island, Salt Spring Island, Powell River, and Langley.   What surprised me the most was the diversity of different types of woods, all within a relatively small distance, just a couple hundred kilometres.   So I really wanted to capture a sense of place with these, in a way that I don’t normally focus on.  One way I did this was in how I shot these with wide-angle lenses while also stitching together multiple shots to give a full, immersive view from the ground all the way up in most images.   Another way was to preserve as  much detail in the processing-  that’s one advantage to working with extra-large images:  there’s so much detail! 

I’ve added images from Langley, Saltspring and Galliano Island forests in my Land & Forest section of my site.  The Powell River images are coming soon!

In Japan, spending time in a forest can be considered a type of therapy, called “Forest Bathing”, which for them means “”taking in the forest atmosphere”. 

I just call it, “being in a forest”, but I can attest to a forest’s uniquely healthy qualities.

Have a happy Fall and get out into the woods while there’s still some green left this year!