At first I though it was some kind of environmental art installation representing a tree. But in reality it was a picture taken by Joakim Berglund from an airplane while he was flying over damaged parts of southern Sweden after Hurricane Gudrum in January 2005. Who knew that Sweden had hurricanes, and where did they get that name from? Berglund won an award for this picture in the 2006 Natural History Museum Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. The piles around the "roots" of the tree are trunks harvested from the fallen timber, the "branches" are access roads leading into the forested area.
Berglund said
"It was if the heavens had sent a message to the forestry industry reminding them that, in this area, deciduous trees would have withstood the winds better than pine."
Sweden has hurricanes...really? Wow.
ReplyDeleteThat is what I said, but according to the magazine, several people died, winds gusted to 90mph, and there was a massive power outage. It was the strongest storm since 1969.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous photo!
ReplyDeleteThat is a fantastic photo, and who knew that Sweden could have hurricanes.
ReplyDeleteLes, thank you very much for sharing this image and story. And for directing me to your post. It is like you read my mind as I was working on a pre-post for next post on Month in Tens, which is about Shooting the Ordinary. It is about seeing objects in a new and different way, all with the help of a camera. Sometimes being ordinary is really being extraordinary.
ReplyDeleteDonna,
ReplyDeleteWhen I first saw this picture I was stunned, but in a good way.