Tree of Eternity
By Seemanta Dutta
This photo was taken on a freezing September night of 2017 at the Bristlecone forest in California at approximately 11000 ft above sea level. Hiking at such altitudes coupled with the lack of oxygen was a challenge but totally worth it. I used some warm LEDs to light up the tree and the foreground. These trees can live practically forever and survive very well at these extreme altitudes of the mountains, hence the title. This image was created using stacking to reduce noise in the final image.
Canon EOS 6D / EF 24-70mm F2.8L II USM / F2.8 / 25s / ISO 4000
ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER
Hailing originally from India, Seemanta Dutta bought his first camera in 2012 in San Diego after giving into some mild peer pressure. But it wasn’t until early 2015 that he started to take a deeper interest in photography. Being a social Argentine Tango dancer himself he was initially so enamored by this dance form that he traveled across San Diego and the US photographing these gatherings, or ‘milongas’ as they are known – where people would meet to dance socially.
He eventually expanded his interests to include landscapes, travel and night sky photos. Pursuing this art purely as a hobby, he likes to travel and hike as often as he can in search of the perfect composition. After spending seven years in sunny San Diego, he moved to the rainy Pacific Northwest city of Seattle in Washington in November 2017. This has not only expanded the source of his inspiration considerably, but also opened up several unexplored vistas.
Seemanta is a firm believer in planning, composition and technique over gear, although he is the first one to admit he suffers from occasional mild bouts of GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). His current obsession is shooting immersive landscapes in the gorgeous and beautiful Pacific Northwest.
Seemanta is also one of the admins of ‘LightChasers’ – a Facebook group of diverse photographers who share their common passion for Photography. LightChasers is known for their emphasis on learning and for organizing some of the best photography related workshops, lectures and events in San Diego.