A Year in the Life of One Tree Hill by alophoto

A Year in the Life of One Tree Hill

I took on this project this year to photograph the same tree in the same angle in all four seasons. A friend of mine, a former coworker, asked me to capture this for him. He offered to buy the images from me. This will be my first commission, though I will probably just give him the images if he wants them.

I recently finished it up with fall. By summer, I was over the idea. I was disappointed with the lack of fall color...why couldn't it have been a red tree or anything more dramatic? I had also hoped for the spring version to have been filled with flowers. This tree, though grand, just wasn't very dynamically different in the seasons.

But here you have it, a year in the life of a tree.

And just so you can see how hardcore I am, I had to lay down on my belly right next to a busy McDonalds to get this shot each time. Oh and I was actually lying behind a snowplow. The dang thing was in my way and made me a little nervous to lie behind!! I went way more than four times to track it's progress. And I sometimes got hooted at while lying there shooting and trying to mind my own business.

Next year, I need a new tree!

I did another edit with the seasons labeled: http://365project.org/amandal/themes-challeng/2013-11-09

So grateful to make TT with this collage. I almost did nothing with these images, so I am really glad that I posted this!! Wow. Here is a funkified, Warhol version of the collage: http://365project.org/amandal/365-year-2/2013-11-15
Fav… fabulous!
November 8th, 2013  
Caz
You always make me smile Amanda ! I can just imagine you getting hooted at, what a cheek ! lol. I love the different images. ( I was going to do the same thing with an old barn, but kept forgetting !)
November 8th, 2013  
Oh what a great collage. Love it, and FAV.
November 8th, 2013  
Love this! I want to do so,etching similar, but haven't found the right subject yet. I would have to travel a bit since we don't get much snow in Portland.
November 8th, 2013  
*something*
November 8th, 2013  
This is a nice collage! Love the angle of that hill it's on. The changes are subtle for Spring, Summer, and Fall but it's cool seeing it through all the seasons. I wouldn't have thought you shot this across the way next to a McDonalds!
November 8th, 2013  
Well done on the dedication although you could have taken a can of red paint with you and painted the leaves to get that Autumn feel :)
November 8th, 2013  
Perfect collage. Fav xx
November 8th, 2013  
@psychographer What do you think, lady. Text with season names or no? I didn't post the other. I think I prefer without the text. Should I put the text version in my extra album? Thanks so much for your kind comments and fav, my friend!!

@thirtysevenways I considered editing in some red somehow, but then thought screw it. Let it be. Thanks, Andy!
November 8th, 2013  
LOL! That was a cool story! FAV!
November 8th, 2013  
What a great evolution shot -- wonderful idea and wonderful execution.
November 8th, 2013  
@tskipper Aw, you are sweet, lady...thank you. I forgot to mention and added in that I had to lie behind a snowplow. That made me nervous!!
November 8th, 2013  
I think you're too hard on yourself. I think it's great. Fav
November 8th, 2013  
@dh I think I am too hard on the poor tree;-). Thanks so much, my friend!!!
November 8th, 2013  
Amazing. Incredible. Brilliant. You rock Amanda. Glad you were able to finish. A great challenge. I may try the same thing. Just need to find a tree. Hmmmm.
Either way....awesome. Fav
November 8th, 2013  
Oh Amanda, this is wonderful! I remember when finding a solitary tree was your quest. Well done, my friend, well done!!!!
November 8th, 2013  
Amanda, I don't think it needs the text as it's pretty self-explanatory. Wonderful collage.
November 9th, 2013  
You did an amazing job! The same angle, consistent exposure. Great dedication. I like without text. Did you see posted somewhere I think on here? a man that took a picture of the same tree for 365 days? Each picture was different and the last day a bunch of people showed up to be there for the last shot. It was very cool!
November 9th, 2013  
really great job getting it at just the right angle each time! fav!
November 9th, 2013  
This is gorgeous.....fav!
November 9th, 2013  
You have done well!!
November 9th, 2013  
Perfect. Fav
November 9th, 2013  
Great job in collage! I like the soft sky in the spring pic, even if it wasn't flowery. Now you need to pay attention during fall and spring and pick your tree that way!
November 9th, 2013  
Joe
Wow, really cool collage and very creative idea/series
November 9th, 2013  
Fav....wonderful!
November 9th, 2013  
Mac
Fav for the result AND the effort. I told you not to wear short dresses when you go shooting!
November 9th, 2013  
Fav! Wonderful project! So so great!
November 9th, 2013  
@riverlandphotos It does get me hoots, though;-). I got outfits grass stained and covered in dirt from lying on the grass. Thanks so much, my friend!!
November 9th, 2013  
Great idea and fabulous collage!!!Fav!
November 9th, 2013  
impressive! i really like this idea... have yet to find the right venue tho'... maybe you should find a really colourful tree right now and choose it for your new subject?
November 9th, 2013  
@northy It's so hard to find a lone tree, though. I will keep my eyes out for one. This one has such a great shape and I love the great hill, but so undramatic. I was bummed! Thanks, friend!!
November 9th, 2013  
This is wonderful! I remember your winter addition. So fun to see all the seasons represented. It is an awfully special tree and setting. You did it justice in every season! FAV
November 9th, 2013  
Absolutely fantastic!!!! Gallery worthy.....truly!!!! I am sure your friend will love them!!! I would like to try this someday. Great job, one you should be very proud of. FAV
November 9th, 2013  
Fab, I can't decide whether I prefer the one with text or without, but I do love the tree's subtle seasonal changes, it's a very peaceful collage. I do have a hilarious picture of you laying on the floor behind a snowplough in my head :) fav
November 9th, 2013  
Sometimes subtlety is more powerful than strong. Your pic really captures the essence of the place and the tree. I'm sure your co-worker will love it!
November 9th, 2013  
What a grea idea and beautiful shots of the four seasons. Fantastic!
November 9th, 2013  
Well done and a fav
November 9th, 2013  
Rob
A super collage! Fav!
November 9th, 2013  
Oh wow, Amanda! You are really good with doing the project! Well done! Oh you can try to take a picture not only of a tree but a scenery? Love this collage and idea!)
November 9th, 2013  
@mariyakey Maybe I will try a pretty scene next time around. Great idea. Thank you, lady!!
November 9th, 2013  
you should frame this and hang in the wall! LOVE the collage! instant fav!
November 9th, 2013  
Oo fab. The simplicity of winter works best for me
November 9th, 2013  
This is a wonderful collection of the tree. Funny but I was thinking of doing the same thing the other day the decided it would be too much hard work. I am glad you persevered , it paid off !
November 9th, 2013  
Wonderful collection of shots!! FAV!!
November 9th, 2013  
Fav! Fantastic collage!
November 9th, 2013  
This is superb. Fav. I wanted to do something like this but have one quadrant of a picture for each season.
November 9th, 2013  
Nice.
November 9th, 2013  
This is a fantastic collage
November 9th, 2013  
Lady! I love this!!!
November 9th, 2013  
Love your collage and each shot. How did you do this as I do not have an option like this on pic monkey but straight across and it came out so small on my tree collage. Yours looks awesome compared to mine. FAV
November 9th, 2013  
Great work, this is defo on my bucket list to do!
November 10th, 2013  
AWESOME! Beautifully done
November 10th, 2013  
Nice. Fav.
November 10th, 2013  
nice
November 10th, 2013  
You have been doing some of your best work these past few weeks. Go Amanda!! Congrats on PP. Fav :)
November 10th, 2013  
@adamj This project took me from March until now. It was a bear, but worth it it seems. Can't wait to find the right tree for the next time I do this. Thanks so much, my friend!! I appreciate you!
November 10th, 2013  
November 10th, 2013  
PP!!!! and TT me thinks.
November 10th, 2013  
I love this idea! and your 'hard-core' determination ~ well done!
November 10th, 2013  
Great collage! I'm doing something similar, but with monthly shots - I have two trees and a view on the go, a photo from the same place on the same date each month!
November 10th, 2013  
@thirtysevenways Thanks so much, my friend. I hope so. Stay away from my project today. It's very disturbing. Murder and mayhem.
November 10th, 2013  
Love the collage, and the commentary.

I know what you mean about wanting more dynamism from season to season. I'm going to choose a different spot for my seasonals next year too. Assuming there's a next year. I'm pretty burnt out.
November 10th, 2013  
Nicely done! I've always wanted to do this. You found a great tree to do it with :)
November 10th, 2013  
I still think it makes for a wonderful collage Amanda and love the dedication you put in to get these four shots! Your words always make me smile! : )
November 10th, 2013  
Fav! : )
November 10th, 2013  
@rennes So do your words. Thanks so much, my friend. Wish I could have joined your fun sounding 365 meet up the other day. Did you know Jo and Lucy outside of 365? What a great group of talented ladies!!:)
November 11th, 2013  
@tina_mac Thanks so much, Tina!!

@squamloon I loved your barn scene! I wish I knew of more lone trees. They are tough to find. Maybe I need a scene. Are you in year one? This year I did my project much differently than I did the first. I shoot when I want. I bring the camera along when I feel like it. I find that I probably take photos 3-4 times a week and I get enough good photos for the week. I still shoot regularly, but I am not killing myself to do a photo of the day every day. It has been freeing. Thanks, friend!
November 11th, 2013  
@roachling Thanks for your comments and I love your tree shots, Louise!

@alisonp Thanks so much, Alison! It's fun to be hardcore:)!

@twr Thanks!!

@mikeable Thanks, ya hottie! You look like a creeper, though in your profile. Are you?!
November 11th, 2013  
oh i love the idea and your determination! like the comp with diagonal cuts as well. what we do for our shots, i tell ya. hardcore indeed. excellent collage even tho the fall colors didn't shout out!
November 11th, 2013  
@bobfoto Perhaps the Niice variety would work here? Thanks for the comment on a non selfie, my friend. This was a time consuming project that I was so uninto after the first photo. I was over it come the spring shot. I sucked at summer (I think that I took the photo on 4 separate occasions in the summer) and fall was totally halfhearted...the leaves were barely colored. But together in a collage, it worked.
November 11th, 2013  
@darsphotos I did this in picmonkey in the collage tools. I found one that was this orientation...I just searched around. And figured out how to stretch the size of the whole frame of images to allow for the entire image to get in there. I've made numerous collages and hadn't figured that out until recently. Let me know if you need help next time and I can try to walk you though it. Thanks so much, my friend!!!
November 11th, 2013  
@amandal I cannot believe that you did this in pic monkey. Wow, I may take you up on this or use what I did, the trees that I photographed and have you help me with that. I will check it out first. Thanks for the offer of help. Been so sick with intestinal problems for almost 3 weeks. Long story. Have someone coming to repair and replace fans in our house tomorrow morning so may have time in there to play if I feel ok. Keeping notes next to my computer so this is on my list now. Appreciate it so much.
November 11th, 2013  
wow! perseverance at its finest! what a brilliant idea. fav!
November 11th, 2013  
Really well done. The idea is fantastic and I admire your patience...one year for one shot ! Bravo !!
November 11th, 2013  
Wow, this is so great, no matter the lack of fall colours! ...and all the trouble you went through! Well done! & a fav!
November 11th, 2013  
What a wonderful idea and beautiful collage. Fav!
November 11th, 2013  
@amandal Thank you Amanda, you would have loved it - a lot of fun, laughs and cake! I have got to know Lucy and Jo through 365 - such a great place! : ))
November 11th, 2013  
awesome! fav!
November 11th, 2013  
excellent !
November 11th, 2013  
@sugarmuser Thanks so much for the fav, Miss Sharon. Really appreciate your support, lady!

@cazann Love that, Caz. Can't wait to see your barn...when you don't forget to shoot it. Thanks, lady!!

@anazad511 Thanks so much for your kind words and fav, lady!!
November 11th, 2013  
While you may be less than thrilled with the outcome, I think it's very successful. It's about the process. Well done, you. And as Caz @cazann said, I too had thoughts of the same, the field across the street, but forgot too. Doh. Well, there's always next year, wait, did I just say that?? A fav nonetheless :-)
November 12th, 2013  
@seejillrun Hope you find your subject. Thanks so much for the sweet comments, Jill!

@fauxtography365 Nutty, eh? It's on the side of our Kroger strip mall. There is a berm with the tree that I discovered last year. "Aha!! A lone tree right in the middle of suburbia!" I can park nearby, walk over and get a few quick shots with the kids in the car, but yes, right by where people drive in and out of MickeyD's. Thanks, friend!

@taffy Thanks, Taffy!!!

@losthorizon Really appreciate your great words and kind fav, my friend. Thanks so much for your support with this series. Hope that you find your tree or subject. I think I want a scene for the next one.

@bpaquette Thanks so so much, Barbara. I was so pleased to find this tree in the middle of suburbia. I wasn't super thrilled with the shots, but in a collage, they came out pretty special in the end. Thanks!

@paulaw I think you are right!! Thanks kindly, Paula!!
November 12th, 2013  
@sunshinephoto5 I didn't see that, but it sounds like it could have been very cool (maybe boring to follow the day to day, though?). Thanks so much for your great comments and support, Dawn!!

@vickisfotos It helped that the snow plow didn't move and I knew I had to lay down right behind it. It actually made me annoyed having it there, but it did help in a way, too. Thanks so much for the fav and sweet words, Vicki!!

@allisonraposa Thanks so much for the fav, Allison!!

November 12th, 2013  
@ozziehoffy Thanks, Cass!! Now if only I can find the perfect tree for the next time around!

@seanoneill You are the best, Sean. Thank you!!!

@archaeofrog Good call, Katie. I wish that lone trees weren't so hard to find. Hope to get a better one next time (and yes, I agree about the spring sky!). Thanks, friend!

@rellimdj Thank you, Joe!!

@kwind Thanks so much, my friend. Appreciate that!!

@espyetta Really appreciate that, MaryBeth. Thanks so much for the kind words and fav!

@my_photofun Thank you so much, Darinka. So appreciate that!

@pflaume Really appreciate your kind words and fav, my friend!!
November 12th, 2013  
@eyesmile I always really love and appreciate your amazing comments, Gena. Thanks so much for them, the super encouragement and the fav. To be honest, I was really not into these photos. I held off and hadn't even posted the last 2. The other day, I thought "What the heck?" and played around and threw the collage together. I am so excited by the great response it got. It did come out better than I expected seeing them all together. Thanks so much, kind friend!
November 12th, 2013  
@pixiemac Love that you can picture that. Seriously, that was scary to do!! Thanks so much for your sweet, fun comments and fav, Sarah!

@alia_801 Thanks so much, sweet lady!!

@roseolivia Thanks very much, Rachel! So glad he asked me to do it!

@soboy5 Really appreciate that, Danny. Thank you so much!

@jdr4690 Wow, thanks so much, Rob. I appreciate that!
November 12th, 2013  
Congrats with your PP...well deserved. I've been told in the past: we're often our biggest critics...
November 12th, 2013  
@ericdibosco Thanks so much...and true, true words! Thanks, Eric!!! You helped put it there. I'm always so shocked to make PP these days. My next shot made it, too, which is nuts to me!
November 12th, 2013  
@amandal My feeling about some of mine that has made PP (not that I've had many), like http://365project.org/ericdibosco/365/2013-10-24, is that it is not always about a good photograph, but sometimes just about the amount of reaction it has caused...(not the case here, though...)
November 12th, 2013  
Wow, so beautiful Amanda! Fav !
November 12th, 2013  
@sjouk Thanks so much for your kind words and fav, lady!!
November 12th, 2013  
Brilliant Amanda - I admire your dedication.
November 12th, 2013  
Lol...I imagined this was somewhere remote and then you said you were laying next to a McDonalds. That's great! haha. Great shots and great idea!
November 13th, 2013  
@sewsharyn Thanks so much, Sharon. Really appreciate that. I'll admit, I was grumbling starting in the spring...no flowers and pretty angry come fall with no color to speak of, but...in the end it still made a nice collage and showed the passage of time.

@islandk8 Isn't that crazy?! It's on the side of our Kroger (grocery store) strip mall. And where I had to lay was right where people drove when pulling out of Mickey D's. I saw it early in the year and was so psyched to find a lone tree so close to home. It was perfect, all but the lack of dramatic change. Thanks kind friend!!
November 13th, 2013  
Really gorgeous. I would love to try this. I get what you mean by wanting more drama but I really like this.
November 15th, 2013  
Caz
Congrats on TT, Amanda !!! :)
November 15th, 2013  
Congrats on TT Amanda! superb work!
November 15th, 2013  
Congrats on TT!
November 15th, 2013  
Congrats on TT Amanda!
November 15th, 2013  
Congrats on the TT, Amanda! Love this!
November 15th, 2013  
Congrats on TT Lisa! I somehow missed this, no idea how. Better late than never a fav for me too!
November 15th, 2013  
Many congrats on getting your tree collage to TT Amanda! Happy Weekend! : ))
November 15th, 2013  
Kudos on the TT.
November 15th, 2013  
@bobfoto Thanks, friend. Wish you had been there, too.

@rennes @happysnap @pflaume @amrita21 @soboy5 @wind_of_the_sothern_sea @cazann

Thanks so much, my friends. Really blown away by the response to this one, that I was not even going to use (til I saw the shots together in a collage and thought it was alright!). Happy weekend!
November 15th, 2013  
Awesome. Well done and well deserved.
November 15th, 2013  
@thirtysevenways Thanks so much, Andy!!
November 15th, 2013  
Jo
Can't believe I missed this, saw it in the TT, huge congrats, fab shots and collage. Fav
November 15th, 2013  
@jo13 No worries. Thanks so much for the fav, Jo!!! Ironically, I was so dissatisfied with the images that I almost didn't use them for anything. So glad I played.
November 15th, 2013  
Way to go Amanda!! Congrats on TT!
November 16th, 2013  
PS Congrats Amanda... can you imagine if the tree would have been with flowers in the spring, and red leaves in autumn... It would had been #1 :)
November 16th, 2013  
My spotty involvement of late caused me to miss this great collection! Congrats on TT!
November 16th, 2013  
@taffy @sbolden Thanks so much, my friends!!

@anazad511 Oh my goodness, that would have been amazing had the tree cooperated for me. I almost didn't even use the images I was so disappointed by it's lack of performance. Glad I did anyway. Thanks, friend!!
November 16th, 2013  
Congrats on the TT :)
November 16th, 2013  
A stunning collection, congrats with the T20!
November 16th, 2013  
Congrats on the tt, I love your tree series, great collage.
November 16th, 2013  
Kick ass! #4!!!! How does Amanda do it one might ask.........just like that. Congrats! You deserve it.
November 17th, 2013  
@willowdragon @genesis_one @wenbow Thanks so much, my friends!!

@losthorizon You are so funny. Thanks, Beau. Hope that I find another subject for my next season shot! I need a more dramatic lone tree, yet they are so tough to find. A golf course, perhaps?
November 17th, 2013  
@amandal They are! I would never want to influence you're muse, but don't feel you have to keep the idea to one singular tree. Maybe try a scene....like a path lined with trees, or....that's about all I got. But you get what I'm saying. Just food for thought.
November 17th, 2013  
@losthorizon Last year I did this bridge...let's see if I can find the link. I also have shot a waterfall a few times.
November 17th, 2013  
Great shots and wonderful idea, congrats on TT. A fav.
November 17th, 2013  
@greenpeg Thanks so much, my friend. Appreciate your kind words and fav!
November 17th, 2013  
a well deserved TT ... love this ... you are in rocking form buddy :-)
November 17th, 2013  
fav .. needless to say :-)
November 17th, 2013  
@friend2303 Thanks soooo much...appreciate you, friend! I almost didn't use these images crazily enough. Glad I thought better of it. Sheesh!
November 17th, 2013  
Amada, FAV! And so sorry to have missed this earlier. Congratulations on TT. It's so well deserved.
November 21st, 2013  
@jyokota Thanks so much, my kind friend. Really appreciate it. How have you been?
November 21st, 2013  
This is great Amanda, a very clever idea.
December 8th, 2013  
Super collage Amanda. I started a project in April. I'm taking a photo a month of a tree at Pope Farm Conservancy.
August 7th, 2014  
What is the elt tag?
August 7th, 2014  
@bill_fe extreme lone tree. Thanks! Wished the tree had been more like me, a drama queen.
August 7th, 2014  
@amandal you always have a way of making me laugh or smile. Thanks.
August 7th, 2014  
@bill_fe Of course. I love and live for that...bringing joy to others. Thanks, Bill.
August 7th, 2014  
Supermaziiiiing-glad u shared the link--fav:)
August 7th, 2014  
August 7th, 2014  
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