transferred older post from previous platform

Author: AlexMisra1

_posts/2024-06-30-nature-photos-june.md

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+---
+title: Photographing June in the Bay Area's Wilderness
+date: 2024-06-30 20:31:00 -0800
+categories: [Photography, Nature]
+tags: [nature photography, vegetation]
+---
+
+June was a breath of fresh air from the constant rain during winter and spring. While the rain did ease up a bit in May—and even in April (mentioned in April’s post)—the sunny, mild weather of June was on a different level. It was truly rewarding.  
+
+Before you guys come at me for not documenting the Bay Area wilderness in May, let me tell you that not much changed from April to May at all. In fact, as far as similarity in vegetation and scenery goes, April and May were more alike than any of the other previous months I’ve documented so far. On a real note, though, I was busy with finals and AP exams, so I apologize for the period of inactivity. Let this documentation of the Bay Area wilderness in June be my makeup post to you guys.  
+
+## June 16th | Monte Bello Open Space Preserve  
+
+![Image 1](../images/2024-06-30/IMG_2408%20Large.jpeg)  
+
+It’s hard to believe that the beige-colored grass in my photo above had been a vibrant green just less than a month ago. It’s also hard to believe that while the grass may be completely dry, the vegetation present in the photo is still quite hydrated. The distant evergreen forest retains a deep green hue from spring.  
+
+This photo wouldn’t have been possible to take in any other month. The sunny, mild, and dry weather of June is enough to dry out the grass but not enough to dry out the evergreen forests, thereby creating a beautiful, contrasting effect. The contrast between the forest-green trees, the golden-colored grass, and the vivid blue sky is why I like this photo so much. It’s interplayed with **line**, an element in photography that guides viewers across a photo. In this case, I believe **line** makes the viewer scrutinize each of the three natural features, emphasizing their differences.  
+
+![Image 2](../images/2024-06-30/IMG_2412%20Large.jpeg)  
+
+What I like about my photo above is how simple yet powerful it is. The use of **line** divides it into two symmetrical halves: the sky and the grass. It evokes a feeling of balance that highlights the differences and similarities between the two halves, important factors we consider in trying to balance aspects of our own lives. For example, the sky and grass are both uniform in color but different in texture, similar in tone but distinct in pattern, and alike in unity but dissimilar in detail.  
+
+I’ve recently learned that the golden-colored grass in this photo is a non-native species introduced by European settlers when they first arrived here. All of California’s cherished golden-covered hills are covered with this same, non-native grass. This was a shocking and conflicting realization for me because, for all this time, I had regarded this grass as one of California’s great natural symbols due to its abundance and appreciation by people.  
+
+![Image 3](../images/2024-06-30/IMG_2437%20Large.jpeg)  
+
+I’ve hiked Monte Bello Open Space Preserve trails for many years now, but taking the above photo of this gigantic tree was the first time I noticed it. What captivated me about this tree was how unique it was. It had several trunks.  
+
+While it’s quite common to see trees with many trunks in the Bay Area wilderness, they’re generally smaller, have thinner trunks, and are located well within evergreen forests, where there is more precipitation. So imagine my surprise when I see this gigantic, old-growth tree with several thick trunks on the brink of a relatively drier, open grassland.  
+
+I went to take a look at the tree’s leaves in an attempt to figure out what species it was and learned that it was a Valley Oak, a different species from the previously mentioned trees in the Bay Area wilderness that are more common to find having several trunks. Valley Oaks are the largest of California oaks, so it made sense why this tree was so massive.  
+
+Why this tree has so many trunks and was growing in this portion of the Bay Area wilderness, however, was still up for discussion. While Valley Oaks can find themselves in parts of the Bay Area, they tend to grow more inland, like in Central Valley, so it’s likely someone planted this tree here. Given that there is a whole row of Valley Oaks following this one, a further indicator that they arrived here from human activity, this tree likely formed its cluster of trunks from the result of multiple closely planted trees fusing.  
+
+It’s also interesting to note the moss on it. Because this tree is located on the brink of a drier, open grassland, it will likely lose some moss as the summer continues—it likely has lost some already because of June’s drier, sunny weather.  
+
+![Image 4](../images/2024-06-30/IMG_2429%20Large.jpeg)  
+
+You may recognize my above photo of this Persian Walnut tree. It was in January’s post when you guys last saw it, and it has completely transformed since then. It has a plethora of leaves now.  
+
+If you haven’t already, I recommend checking out January’s post to see what it looks like without its foliage. As evident by the name, this tree is non-native to the Bay Area. This is also reflected in its features, which vary significantly from the surrounding native vegetation (excluding the grass, which I recently learned is non-native).  
+
+What I like about this photo are the certain photography elements present in it. The trail serves as a **leading line**, a line that explicitly guides the viewer in a certain direction. I also like the presence of **space**, the relationship between a subject and the space around it, between the leaves toward the top of the tree and the vast blue sky.  
+
+![Image 5](../images/2024-06-30/IMG_2448%20Large.jpeg)  
+
+In my above photo, you may see some vegetation that looks quite different from the vegetation in my previous photos. Indeed, the foliage is longer and thinner; it appears to belong to plants that would be best suited for a hot, humid environment, like a jungle.  
+
+These plants, however, are native to the Bay Area evergreen forests—forests that are located right next to the open grasslands where the bushy, more stocky vegetation grows. It highlights how diverse the microclimates of the Bay Area are—how even in nearby areas, climates can be different in a way where the vegetation evolves to look very different from each other.  
+
+## Photo Information  
+
+All my nature photos not just in this blog post, but in all blog posts, are taken by me and can be found [here](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wrpC5GEXPhW3HTZ3zCPfQwamb6Pj36_n?usp=sharing) and in higher quality as well.  
+
+Once there, you’ll find folders labeled by date, each containing photos taken on those specific days. The photos located in the folder up to and including the “4/28/24” folder were taken by me on my Canon Rebel EOS T6 until it unfortunately got lost. As a result, I reluctantly had to take this month’s photos on my iPhone 13. They can be found in the “6/16/24” folder.