Treeangle

FIRST in the 2009 National Wildlife Federation International Photography Contest, Plants and Landscape Professional Division.    

I love spending winter days in the Lamar Valley of Yellowstone National Park.  Winter in Yellowstone is mysterious, rigorous, unpredictable and serene.  Near Pebble Creek, I had been snowshoeing and noticed this striking triangular pattern of aspen trees.  I took some time to locate the best angle, one where the trees lined up most pleasingly.  The atmospheric haze caused by the cold, overcast, foggy weather helped to separate the elements - mountain, conifers and aspens - giving the image more depth. 

I love this image for all the so-called rules of composition that it breaks:  the plain white foreground, with the subject and the line dividing the snow from the conifers both centered.