Requiem for the Beech Tree by taffy

Requiem for the Beech Tree

I wanted to convey the surreal sense of seeing a large part of an otherwise healthy forest being struck down. The beech tree, now dead, looks like a left hand (side view including thumb) reaching up to the sky. Today we walked the Kuebler Trail with some friends to see first hand just how bad the beech tree blight has gotten. We lost count the dozens and dozens of huge dead trees like the one pictured here. The diseased ones are spotted because of a while film that forms a sort of scale on the trunk. Across Europe and North America, beech trees have been infected with this blight that is killing about 95% of them ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beech_bark_disease). They are a magnificent species with elephant-like bark, growing to majestic heights. But apparently nothing can stop this infection. Very sad to see and it affects the entire food chain, as the smaller animals depend on the beech tree nuts for food.
great POV
July 24th, 2013  
You are quite right, not just a dead tree. Sorry for those animals who rely on them. Hope they can adapt.
July 24th, 2013  
While this disease is tragic (and you do see the aftermath of big trees having been removed in Germany, too) your photo captures a sense of hope for a rebirth, see through the nurturing colors of growth depicted through the blue and green.
July 24th, 2013  
Fantastic POV
July 24th, 2013  
beautiful Angle
July 24th, 2013  
love it
July 24th, 2013  
Adore this angle
July 24th, 2013  
Love this pov, really great shot. I´ve tried something like this many times but never could have capture something so awesome as this.
July 24th, 2013  
I love this perspective
July 24th, 2013  
Cool shot, love the POV!
July 24th, 2013  
A beautiful shot Taffy and it is sad to see such majestic trees come down...
July 24th, 2013  
Well spotted. That hand is reaching up and making an offering to it's maker...imploring help! Fav.
July 24th, 2013  
Gorgeous POV and sad context.
July 24th, 2013  
Jo
I always feel really sad when I see this:(
July 24th, 2013  
fav - I love looking up like this - I see the hand - it saddens me the earth is losing such magnificent trees
July 24th, 2013  
very cool
July 24th, 2013  
I love that the tree is leading us to the top to a glorious blue sky. Great capture.
July 24th, 2013  
Wow!!!!! FAV I love the pov and that strong base leading us to all of the different textures
July 24th, 2013  
Okay, first: beautiful shot, lovely contrast with the deep blue of the sky, the rich green of the healthy trees, and the mottled, dying beech. Secondly: I didn't know about this terrible blight on beech trees! Your photo is a fav, AND you taught me something today. Thank you!
July 24th, 2013  
I love your pov, it creates a sense of magnitude and height.
July 24th, 2013  
Thank you all for your wonderful response to this image. I was just so sad thinking of how different the island is going to look in the next few years. I remember as a child when Dutch Elm wiped out all our elm trees. It feels so helpless to watch -- all the trees that had the white scaly fungus are doomed. Anyway, thank your for viewing, commenting, and thinking about these poor trees and the wildlife that will be hurt without their food.

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July 24th, 2013  
Great shot, I've tried quite a few times to take a pic looking up through tree's but never quite pulled it off the way you have here.
July 24th, 2013  
Beautiful shot! Marvelous pov and depth!
July 25th, 2013  
This is truly tragic, and this photo captures it so well. We lost the only climbing tree in our neighborhood to Dutch Elm Disease when I was young, and it just tore me up.
July 25th, 2013  
Very sad to see a wonderful tree like this dead. One species of palm trees in Malta has been devasted by some bug which we had never seen before.
July 25th, 2013  
oh this is so sad! Such a mighty tree and all dead =(( i also got to say that it remind me of legs =)))
July 25th, 2013  
Very surreal. Great shot love the blue sky
July 27th, 2013  
Wow! I have tried many different with tree to focus to the sky I failed. I will tried it again to get perfect shot. lol
July 30th, 2013  
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