Saturday 4 February 2012

The Morning Blues

One of those winter mornings when the sun smashed horizontally across the fields, making it painful to walk south-east into its blinding fire. The path was iron-hard with frost as I strode along with my hands thrust deep into my pockets. Near the plantation I stopped and saw the sun piercing the trees. I reached for the camera...


....I took several shots, resting my elbows on the frosty fence.

But it was when I got back home and looked at the pictures on my laptop that I noticed something unexpected. Some of the trees had taken on a bluish hue while others were a more normal colour. I can assure you that there's no such thing as a blue tree even though it may have been cold enough to make my fingers turn that colour! I think it's a freakish result of the colour temperature of reflected light. In other words some of the tree trunks are in shade and are illuminated chiefly by blue light from the clear blue sky while others are so positioned that they are lit by light reflected from the ground or from nearby trees. Well, that's my theory. Or maybe they just got the blues.


Take care.

16 comments:

  1. That is so cool!!! I love the "blue" trees!!! Funny that it happened like that, but really neat pictures!!!

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  2. I think you got it right, John. You call it a plantation, yet the trees are awfully close together to be grown for fiber. Is this perhaps a bioenergy plantation? Jim

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  3. However it happened it's a lovely effect.

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  4. what an interesting effect. When I first saw the photo I though you had been playing around with it and made it blue!

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  5. Amazing effect ...at first look I thought it was silk fabric hanging at a window. ...

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  6. The light coming through those trees is so nice, what lovely photos you have on your blog.

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  7. It is like avatar but birches.

    garry.

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  8. Lovely images. The blue is due to the white balance setting on your camera.

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  9. That is a fascinating effect of natural lighting, especially noticeable on a crystal clear day as you described. Wonderful presentation!

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  10. I think you might be right John, but then I just read Mo's theory, she could be right haha! the image looks fantastic whichever is right.

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  11. When I first glanced at your pictures, John I thought they were drapes, drawn against a bright sun, but now I look and see the trees and marvel at the results of your shots.

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  12. How exciting to find this kind of thing! Blue trees are fascinating whatever as the effect of natural phenomenon or of digital camera work.

    I experienced a similar thing. I noticed even bare cherry trees looked hazy pale pink cascade on a very cold day, while they look like pink cascade of clouds in spring bloom.

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  13. I never know whether it's something I'm doing wrong with my camera settings or not - but in this case I don't think it matters as you have a nicely creative shot.

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  14. Thank you all for commenting. I've been using cameras of one sort or another for half a century now and they still have some surprises for me!

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  15. Whatever caused it-the photos are just amazing! I love the blue : )

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  16. Super! Love the vertical lines created by the tree trunks.

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