"the tree tops whisper your name when i'm missing you the most. your shadow is observing me... it all reminds me how much more my spirit glows in your presence" ― bodhinku, spirit
pictured here is the famous lone cypress tree tenaciously perched on its cliff at the sea's edge just after the sunset. and it's a site that's easily found along the beautiful 17 mile road that winds through the affluent community of pebble beach, ca...
if there was a hall of fame for trees, first-ballot entries would definitely include the avenue of the baobabs in madagascar, the cedars of god in lebanon, general sherman in the giant forest of sequoia national park and the tree of life in bahrain....
also a sure-fire hall of famer is the lone cypress. you’ve probably seen at least one photograph at some point in your life of the lone cypress. it stands along the famously scenic 17-mile drive on the monterey peninsula in pebble beach, ca (which you must pay $10.75usd to gain access and drive the private road)...it's raked by wind, swaddled in fog, clinging to its wave-lashed granite pedestal like god’s own advertisement for rugged individualism.
the lone cypress improbably sprung from a seedling on that rocky outcropping before the birth of our country, some 250 years ago. now, it might be the most photographed tree in north america. it sits alongside one of the world’s most beautiful (and expensive) golf courses. it's a marketing tool, a registered trademark, a western icon...
founder and staunch environmentalist samuel f.b. morse identified the lone cypress as the ideal embodiment of pebble beach resorts: "the solidity of the rock, vaguely reminiscent of gibraltar, yet with the life of a rugged tree, native only to this area, clinging with tenacity above the power of the ocean. land, tree and ocean were the basis of this development, and therefore the lone cypress became the perfect symbol"
this is one spindly old conifer, small for its species, scarred by a long-ago arson and attempted vandalism. and for more than 65 years, half-hidden steel cables have held the tree in place.
and in mid-february of 2019, a severe pacific winter storm with gale force winds pounded the monterey peninsula and damaging hundreds of trees, including the lone cypress, breaking off a major limb and reducing its size by about 1/3...
the pebble beach company reported to the associated press that despite the damage, an arborist examined the cypress and confirmed it is “healthy and remains secure on its rocky perch,” and that the loss of a limb was “a natural part of the evolution of the lone cypress tree.” (the lone cypress has been the registered trademark of the pebble beach company for over 100 years since 1919)
even if you haven’t read don delillo’s novel “white noise,” you have felt like the character in it who gazes upon tourists as they gaze upon the most-photographed barn in america. "no one sees the barn," he says, "once you’ve seen the signs about the barn, it becomes impossible to see the barn." people take pictures of it and leave to say that they have been there and seen that barn. but they did not really see it or experience it. they simply took a photo and went about their trip and the rest of their life...
it's exactly that same way with the lone cypress. people come, stay briefly, take a picture, and go about the rest of their sightseeing. even other professional photographers take their picture and move on, with their focus being on getting that "money shot" rather than feeling the tree and its unique surroundings...and that's a huge shame imho...
so when you finally get to such a magical place, you want to spot something that will draw you closer or transform your perspective. you want to understand what’s changed and what hasn’t since that first person who tried to capture this tree with their camera. and you want to know what waits beyond the edge of what others have seen, your own point of view and perspective...
i always want to see what i'm photographing...i stay many hours and often revisit a location numerous times before i ever capture an impression with my camera which i feel is worthy of the essence of my subject and does it justice. as is the case here, i have taken many pictures of lone cypress through the years, but have never been happy with my results until now...
while still remaining true to my style of long exposure photography, i feel i've managed to capture the lone cypress' majesty, its perseverance, its ability to hold on to its life and place on its cliff. catching at the same time, its rugged individualism that's so symbolic of the california lifestyle, and that of my own personally...
the los angeles times describes the mystical and inspiring tree this way: "it stands along famously scenic 17-mile drive, raked by wind, swaddled in fog, clinging to its wave-lashed granite pedestal like god’s own advertisement for rugged individualism...this tree is to the monterey peninsula what the pyramids are to egypt, what the eiffel tower is to paris"
"the true art of photography, is all about enjoying the entire experience, feeling everything all around you with all your senses, surrounding your entire soul in the dance of nature that is surrounding you. it's not about just capturing the picture and going home contented..." ― bodhinku, the dance of nature
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