My family is big into nicknames (we all have at least half a dozen) and recently,

my Better Half has been calling me "Morticia."

"Why," you ask?...

Well, here's what happened.

I photograph trees that have interesting architecture or are just plain striking, like this one, which happens to be guilty on both charges:

 

My family has gotten used to me suddenly pulling over to the curb (or asking whoever is driving to pull over) so that I can photograph trees from every angle I can manage, like here:

 

 

All four images are of the same tree taken at slightly different angles. And it paid off. Three of them don't have anything that grabs me.  But the bottom righthand image?...  Do you see it?...  

"Ponder" Bear pauses to contemplate the intermingled smells of the soil.  Original Photograph, Modified with Graphic Design Software.

 

Aaaaanyway, nicknames, right? I'm getting there.

 

Having taken thousands of photos of hundreds of trees, I've learned which trees work best for creating beautiful images like this...

 

...and this...

 

...and this.

 

So, I know a good "Blue Victory Gallery" Tree when I see one.

[Nickname—yes—Getting there!]

My Better Half and I were zipping along somewhere on a highway and I saw a PERFECT tree.

 

PERFECT, I tell you.

 

Perfect, big, bold, gnarly; perfectly bare branches with perfect gray skies perfectly contrasting with perfectly black bark.

*SWOON*

 

Alas, there was no way to pull over and capture it. (!!)  I was dying...

 

Me [pitifully]:  "Ohhh what a lovely dead tree..."

Better Half:  "Oooookay, Morticia." 

 

My Better Half just compared me to Morticia Addams? Remember? She arranged flowers by clipping off the bloom so that all that remained were stems? (Kinda like me in that I think a tree is at its most beautiful when it is utterly leafless.) She's self-assured, poised, and happily married to a husband who adores her? 

 

Best.  Nickname.  Ever.

All the best,

​