Great Basin Bristlecone Pine

                Stefano Crosio

 

(Pinus longaeva). I shot this image at sunset at the Inyo National Forest (CA) while I was attending a workshop led by the late Master Photographer Galen Rowell. Galen brought us to a unique place that is called the Ancient Bristlecone Pines Forest and that is home to the oldest living trees on earth, the bristelcone pines, the oldest of which are more than 4700 years old! These trees live at an elevation of 10,000 feet and were discovered by Dr. Edmund Schulman in 1953. At sunrise and sunset their bark takes on the warm red color of the sun and their gnarled forms lend themselves to interesting compositions. Nikon F100, Nikkor AF 24 D, Gitzo G1227 tripod, Velvia 50