Contorted Mulberry at Sunset, Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark No. 4

The Story:     Near Dayton Ohio lies a park with several gardens.  Collectively, we call them Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark.  Every time I visit the park, a host of cheery volunteers diligently work on each feature.  Most know I love the contre-jour technique of pointing my lens into the light.   Well, on this 4th of July evening, I caught my own fireworks where the gnarled branches of this Contorted Mulberry Tree (Morus alba ‘Unryu’) gently filtered the day’s last rays of warm light.

The Rest of the Story:   Rather than fight the crowds around local fireworks, I elected to spend a quiet evening in a few of our local parks.  I’ve spent several evenings in this park and I typically dwell in the English Gardens as the sunset backlights a trellis garden feature.  In fact, I was on my way out of the park, when I stopped by this favored tree.  I loved how the warm hues from the setting sun raked across the pathway.  The light around this tree was impressive when it occurred to me to capture this composition.  Thirty minutes earlier, a haze permeated the western sky so my sunset images of the trellis garden feature were fuzzy.  As the sun approached the horizon, the air cleared producing this sharp sunburst.

Speaking of clearing the air….no I didn’t make the sunburst in Photoshop, nor did I use a filter.  I use a Canon 11-24mm ultra wide zoom lens that runs about $3K.  Its optics are impressive as are its nine aperture blades.  For me, with this lens, the sun is nearly always in the camera frame.  Rather than render the sun as a bright blob, I elect to embrace the light and drive the appearance of a sunstar produced by light diffraction.  In short, it’s all done in camera.

For more images from this park, check out my Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark Art Prints.  I also, organize my images by subject, so you may want to see my Tree Art Prints which celebrate singular trees in their surroundings.

Sublocation:  Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark

City, State:     Dayton, Ohio

Year:               2023

This room visualization depicts my original photography as displayed in an AI-generated room. The art print features a contorted mulberry tree at Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark during a Dayton Ohio evening. This room visualization was generated through FreePick with their permission and license, while I retain the copyright of the displayed art print.