Green Trees Glow Under Infrared

A few days ago, when the weather seemed a tiny bit better, I accompanied Jim to visit Roger Williams Park in Providence. It was hot but not terribly so and the humidity seemed tolerable, at least initially. The sky had big puffy clouds and the trees glowed under infrared light. I sought foliage with big green leaves especially if I could get under them. The sun shining on them, I envisioned, would create brilliant leaves and dark branches. And, I was right!

Roger Williams Park occupies a large swath of land in Providence. With over 435 acres of land and many educational and recreational activities, it is one of the important landmarks in Rhode Island. The land sprawls around a body of water that creates pleasing scenery and probably provides moisture that may be necessary for the plant and wildlife. Visit their website for more information about the park. Below are the screen captures from Google Maps showing the park layout and its approximate width and length.

At the first stop, we came across a group of women and men dressed in period costumes going back to the 19^th century. They kindly stopped and posed for us. From there, we slowly walked around the Japanese Gardens with one of the sizeable ponds in the park, decorated with small landings connected with slightly arched wooden bridges. Around these landings on both sides were various trees arranged rather skillfully. As I photographed the small pine tree leaning over the water with a shapely rock next to it, I remembered taking bonsai classes from the designer of the Japanese Gardens; I think his name was Ronnie.

The next stop was at the Betsy Williams Cottage which recently opened after years of renovation. Jim parked the car under the impressive American Sycamore tree and we slowly walked towards the casino. As we approached the small covered bridge, I saw a group of young women taking photographs of one of their friends holding in her hands two balloons in the shape of a 2 and a 0, she turned 20! I took a few photographs and we moved along taking photographs of the glowing trees, ginkgo, maple, pink oak, purple beech, and many others. See the Roger Williams Park Notable Trees brochure published by the Rhode Island Foundation.

As we approached the Casino Building I lost track of Jim, he was ahead and went in a direction I did not see. I looked around a little then decided to walk back to the car. I saw the young women still photographing the 20-year old friend and took a few more photographs, you see them all above. I made it back to the car as the weather was getting heavier. In the meantime, I managed to capture many frames of large tree branches covered with leaves against the sky. The stark contrast in infrared came out quite pleasing to me after processing them.

The long branch of the sycamore tree was quite impressive and extended quite a distance with twists and turns. The curved branch created quite an intriguing display from various angles. I passed more time photographing the huge branch and then decided to sit down on the steps of the Roger Williams statue and wait for Jim to return. A little later, Jim returned and I caught my breath and enjoyed the AC inside the car as we drove home.

All the photographs in this post were converted to B&W from the false-color infrared photographs.

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