Tree Tuesday - The Series Begins - Belogradchik, Bulgaria

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Yesterday, I created a post that is a prelude to this series that I am kicking off today. Last fall, @brentssanders and I began our two month Bulgarian travelrama in Belogradchik. I ended up taking a crazy amount of photos in this place and I have been overthinking ways to share as many of them with you as I can.

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On Monday, you got a little taste of this place in black and white. Let's bring on the color, shall we? Today, I will be showing you some of the trees we encountered on our hike through this geologically fascinating area (which you will see more of tomorrow) that comes fully equipped with a centuries old fortress (more on that later).

Off we go...

I have been accused of not being able to see the forest for the trees because I find myself most comfortable in the abstract. The composition of this shot makes me happy. All those lines and textures just move me all over the place. It's also a bit trippy...like we are looking through a window into a new and brighter world.

Take a look at those aggregate rock walls. I spent a fair amount of time imagining the process in which they formed...more trippyness ensued. I'm sure there is a straightforward explanation for how it all came to be but I enjoy the scenarios that play out in my head.

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I took a lot of pictures of this particular tree. It's such a knotty, gnarly beauty. I don't think I have ever seen vertical stripes running through bark like this before...almost like it's busting out of its skin. The dappled light just added fuel to my momentary obsession.

Does anyone out there know what kind of tree this is? I would greatly appreciate you sharing that info with me in the comments below.

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Here's Brent being more brave than I would ever be. I will climb on a lot things but walking out on a log has always freaked me out. Go figure.

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Here is an example of my extreme editing. The original shot was pretty dark but I really like how these pine trees look like they are dancing with each other not to mention all the textural action going on here. This rendition is probably very close to how I was actually seeing things in the moment because we had gone off on this hike without breakfast and I was surviving on wild berries and rose hips. 😵

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The shadows are the stars in these shots plus, you are starting to get a good look at the rock formations that were surrounding us.

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Here is Brent capturing the beauty from a vantage point that most of us never think to explore. I wonder what shot he got here? Care to share @brentssanders?

As I was preparing this post, I was concocting a story about how those roots were snaking their way over to Brent while he was doing his photographer thing. Because his sweatshirt is the same color as the roots, they thought he was one of them. I know, a little weird, right? 😁

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And finally, here is a lovely shot of the swaths of pine trees that have a fantastic view of the Balkan Mountains in the distance.

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I hope you enjoyed our journey through this little slice of the forest in northwestern Bulgaria. Next stop...the Belogradchik Rocks, fantastic sandstone formations like none other! Stay tuned!!!

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Want to see more from this area? Check out this post of mine from a few weeks ago that came from just outside Belogradchik.

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This is my contribution to #treetuesday as it has been proclaimed to be by @old-guy-photos.

!steemitworldmap 43.623153 lat 22.678270 long Belogradchik, Bulgaria d3scr