The Montgomery Redwood Grove is one of only a handful of remaining old-growth redwood groves in this area of Northern California, due to heavy logging that took place in the early 20th century. After the 1906 earthquake, the fires that consumed all of San Francisco meant that the city had to be rebuilt, and that meant lumber. Where there used to be endless groves of gigantic coastal redwoods throughout the Pacific Northwest, now there are only a handful left, preserved by forward-thinking land owners.

The moment I came across this location, I knew that it deserved to become a VAST photo. Up against the creek in a clearing of the redwoods, there was a bed of ferns and a fallen tree. A small footbridge led the path throughout the ferns and across the stream. I knew that I wanted to incorporate all of these elements into the final photo.

One of my favorite things about being a photographer is that you start paying attention to light in a whole different way. Light isn’t just about exposure. Light is also about tone. Tone is how a photo makes you feel, and it has to do with the color temperature of the light source. Choosing your light source, direction, and and time of day are some of the ways that photographers can control the tone in an image.

To capture this photo the way I had envisioned, I waited for two hours before pressing the shutter, because I wanted the light to be perfect. I knew that once the sun was low enough below the tree line, the light would take on a softer, more golden quality. I also knew that I could position my camera to have the sun be on the edge of a tree, producing the distinct sunstar in the right side of the frame.

This place is nothing short of magical, and it was my goal to capture as much of that astounding natural beauty as possible, in a way that only a VAST photo can. With the path and the small footbridge, the viewer is able to get a sense of scale, and can imagine themselves being in this wonderful location.