Curiosity

Curiosity often leads me to take pictures and then spend time analyzing them later.  One Saturday at the beginning of January, my husband and I took a walk in the woods.  It was freezing, but the ground was not yet covered with snow.  My husband, who spent many days as a child exploring the local woods, wanted to take me to a spot where he thought I could get interesting pictures.  The woods in our area changed drastically since Hurricane Sandy swept through in 2012, so the area was covered with downed trees. This made for an even more interesting landscape to photograph.

 

So my curiosity piqued.  How did these trees fall?  Hurricane Irene in 2011?  Hurricane Sandy in 2012?  Did ground-soaking melting snow through the years lead to the breakdown of their roots? How old are these trees?

 

Nature somehow created a hole in the middle of the tree below.  I am sure that there is a scientific name for a hole in the middle of a tree, however I am not a tree expert, so I will just refer to it as a great hole in a tree to catch an interesting shot.  How did that hole get there?  Does the hole affect the strength of the tree?  Was it a random thing that occurred in nature or did something damage the tree.  Either way, it makes for interesting photos.

 

Then human influence in the woods becomes apparent.  This tree had the initials, “GM+CL” carved in it.  How long ago were these initials carved?  Who are GM and CL?  Are they still as in love today as they were the day they carved their initials in this tree?  Or were these initials carved by 13-year old kids with a crush?  Again, curiosity piqued.

 

At one time this tree obviously had a fence leaning against it.  Why was their a fence in the middle of the woods?  Where is the fence now?  Will the scars left by the fence weaken the tree, so that it may not survive the next hurricane that hits New Jersey?

 

Whether you take a walk in the woods, through your town, or in a strange city, let your curiosity be your guide.  Look for things out of the ordinary, which may create extraordinary photographs.