Abstract Forests of the World Series™ | Appalachian Trail, Maine

As the name suggests, my Abstract Forests of the World Series™, features impressionistic exposures of Earth’s iconic forests. The abstract effect is created in-camera by opening the shutter and moving the camera vertically. The movement smoothly blends and preserves the colors of the forest while softly erasing the myriad of finite details – a process that accentuates the vertical nature of the trunks themselves. When done right, this technique allows the viewer to explore an impression of a forest – a glimpse that is both reality and illusion.

Resplendent is defined as “being attractive and impressive by being richly colorful or sumptuous” – the perfect description of this bold Abstract Forest. It was captured near the northernmost point of the Appalachian Trail, just outside of Baxter State Park in Maine. Despite its proximity to so much protected land, these trees actually grow in a section of forest designated for timber harvesting. I took great care to capture the image with the colors bleeding out of the top of the frame – a technique that makes the autumn colors feel vast and expansive. Artistically, my favorite part of Resplendent is the spot of red in the center of the image – I feel it grounds the movement and variation of the piece, while giving the forest more depth and the other colors more range.