Last One Standing, Roxbury, CT © Steven Willard
I’m not quite sure why I find lone trees so interesting. Is it somehow symbolic of the lone individual? Do I imagine Gary Cooper in “High Noon”, standing alone against the gang of outlaws? Or maybe Alan Ladd in “Shane”? I give away my age when I reference these two classic movies, but isn’t there something heroic in human lore about the rugged individual standing alone against the world? All I know is that whenever I see one of these old, gnarly trees that show the evidence of hardships, I feel strangely proud of them, and sad at the same time.
I learned from friends that this tree was finally felled by a storm. I drove back up to see for myself, and there standing by the side of the road, I wept.
Pentax K5IIs with 70mm f2.4 lens, processed in Photoshop CS4 and Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.
Please visit my blog at, http://www.stevenwillardimages.wordpress.com.
Monochromia 
First, thanks for your kind words. Photography has so many uses it’s not easy to make broad statements, but for me, the most important thing about my photography is how it sparks my memory. Time and again, I find myself drawn to an image because it reminds me of something from my past….real or imagined.
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I too love the shape and location of lone trees. As I’m driving, I often want to stop and capture a special tree along the way. I’m glad you were able to capture the tree before it fell. As I look through my photo library I realize that many of my images are of transient moments, of objects that only with us for a brief time, then disappear. I find joy in the fact that I was there and had my eyes open in that time and space and was wise enough to document the moment.
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Love the lone tree and understand your emotions, too. Love your composition with the clouds, Steven.
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I find lone trees, and flowers fascinating. Similar to what you said, I think a lone tree seems as if it has endured. And a lone flower always makes me think of beauty among unloveliness.
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Well put.
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Thank you, Joe.
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Wonderful image Steven 😀 I’m a big fan of the “Lone Tree” look but I don’t think about the same scenarios as you do. I always have some sort of song playing in my head. Great work.
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Love the image, great range of tones and thought provoking. Shame it was felled.
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Thank you. I felt as though I had lost a friend.
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