Elfin Forest

When I first read about the Elfin Forest, I had no idea that it was largely composed of low-growing shrubs and one particularly rare type of oak: California Pygmy Live Oak. From the description I had read, the outstanding factor was that it had old-growth oaks. So when I got there, I was surprised that at first I didn’t see any trees, but only low shrubs. After a bit of a hike I noticed islands of slightly higher plants in the distance and eventually found my way to some of the Pygmy Oak groves in the park. In the shade of those gnarly trees I came across this branch and thought it looked a bit like an old hand, with the wrinkles of bark at the joint between ‘hand’ and ‘thumb.’ Maybe it is the curious way in which their trunks and branches curve and curl, or the way that their light-gray bark looks a bit like the skin of an old elephant, that draws me in and that tickles my brain.

Chroma Carbon Adventurer 4x5, Ilford Delta 100, Caffenol C-L, 90mm, F22