Journal
The Horror Tree
“With its wonky eyes, twisted snout and crooked teeth, this unsightly work of nature would appear to be the very tree at the centre of the well-known insult”.
(Is this what they mean by the ugly tree? The terrifying 70ft beech with wonky eyes and crooked teeth, 2022)
Tree Type: Beech (Fagus Sylvatica)
Age: 300 + years
Girth: Unknown
Height: Up to 21.3+ Metres
A few days before visiting this tree I felt it would be appropriate to email the location where this tree was and left a voicemail on their answerphone. I received confirmation by the way of a telephone call that I could attend the estate to take photographs.
On the morning of 11th February, we left South Wales at 07:00 to drive to the East Coast to locate some more trees. When leaving South Wales it was pitched black, dry and a little cold. I was appropriately dressed in warm clothes, footwear and had a waterproof coat. The car was packed with the necessaries as before being my camera, additional lenses, rain cover if needed and tripod.
The journey stopped and started due to traffic jams, we decided to stop off for food arriving around 13:30 behind schedule. The tree was on an estate namely; The Stowlangtoft Estate. the tree itself was set back on some grassed area, to the left of a long winding pathway just before the stately home.
The photographs were taken fully manually (See caption in photographs) and a tripod was used.
The tree was extremely tall and full of character, especially around the middle of its trunk area. Even though it is known as The Horror Tree, the energy was incredible and I felt sorry for the tree being given the name it had. When photographing the tree, I used a tripod throughout, taking some close-up shots, especially of the area whereby it had gained its name from and later further away to incorporate the immensity of the tree. The lighting conditions seemed fine, when the sun came out I did again struggle with the shadows. In this case, I felt it somehow worked with the photograph I wanted to create.
We left here at approximately 15:00 and travelled to Mistley to visit Old Knobbley.
Old Knobbley
Old Knobbley tree in Mistley a ‘sanctuary for hunted witches’
(Old Knobbley tree in Mistley a ‘sanctuary for hunted witches’, 2014)
Tree Type: English Oak (Quercus Robur)
Age: 800+ years
Girth: 10.9 Metres
Height: 3.96 Metres
Driving onwards to Mistley the weather changed and became colder. As I had done a shoot earlier I was suitably dressed and had the equipment I used earlier. Unfortunately due to the traffic putting us back, we got to Mistley later than expected at 17:30.
When arriving the sat nav gave us the wrong directions and we had to ask a local resident about the tree’s location. After parking up by a rugby club, walking over a playing field we found a lady walking her dog and she showed us where it was. Old Knobbley was situated in a clearing of small forest around fifteen minutes from the car. The time was not really on our side however I did the best I could in the circumstances, it was too far from home to not get the shots I so needed. The tree looked strong around the trunk however seemed to have sustained some damage to its branches which I believed could have been from weather and age.
I carried out the photography fully manually (See caption in photographs).
As Old Knobbley was difficult to photograph due to the other trees and brambles close to it, I had to change how I shot it. Using a tripod through the shoot, firstly by taking shots from each side concentrating on the characteristics of the tree then moving slightly away producing a distance shot.
I believe if the ground and pathways in the area were better maintained, a longer lens I may have captured a better shot. The sky became dark very quickly and I found the lighting, shadows to be a problem. I used the flash for some of my shots and changed the settings accordingly.
