Dead Trees and Palmettos

This isn’t the picture I intended to get the day I visited Galveston Island. My intent was to photograph Stewart’s Mansion and old abandoned mansion. It is a 8,200 square foot Spanish colonial mansion built in 1926 complete with beautiful woodwork and inlaid tiles from what I could see in photos. Most notable thing the photos showed were the murals of pirates commemorating Galveston’s pirate past. Sadly (at least for me), Stewart’s Mansion was no longer abandoned. It was being refurbished as part of a condo development.

What Do I Do Now?

Often when you go out to photograph abandoned things you find they are no longer abandoned or that they’ve been completely demolished. You have to be prepared to implement Plan B. My Plan B was to drive around the island to see if I could find anything interesting so I headed to the main highway to see what I could find.

It was just before I got to the highway when I came upon this scene. It was one of those hit the brakes and turnaround moments. Did I just see what I thought I saw? To find out, a quick (but safe) maneuver to me back to the scene. There it was, an empty field with a group of palmettos. Within those palmettos were a number of dead trees. The gnarled and twisting branches set against the gray cloudy sky grabbed my attention.

Why Black and White?

B&W works well for certain types of images. Scenes with interesting shapes and lots of textures and a limited color palette work especially well in B&W. Well this scene certainly met those criteria. The trees reflected the effect of the constant gulf breeze and were twisted in wonderful shapes with fantastic weathered textures. The colors were for the most part dark green in the palmettos and everything else in shades of gray or brown. You thrown my bias toward B&W and it was a no-brainer (the kind I’m best suited to make).

What’s Luck Go To Do With It?

This is one of my favorite images. It was just a lucky find. In deciding to head back to the highway I had two choices; I got lucky and chose wisely. The serendipitous nature of all this adds to my feelings about this. It turns out a lot of my images are just lucky finds. Be prepared, keep your mind open to finding the unexpected.

I know a lot of photographers believe in traveling light and if I’m going to be carrying the gear in my backpack I’m all for that. But when I’m out driving around I bring it all. The car doesn’t mind a few more pounds and you never know when you might need it. It’s part of being prepared for the unexpected. Surprise finds are just part of the adventure.

What are your favorite surprise finds? Comment below.