Sequoia National Park

Note: Please use this submission as resolution of other was too low.

The General Sherman tree is everything to an outdoor enthusiast who enjoys America's great National Parks. Being the world's largest tree and standing in its glory for approximately 2200 years, the General Sherman tree is truly a world wonder drawing large crowds to marvel at its majestic power. Photographing Sequoia trees is very challenging due to their immense size and lighting conditions that often have a wide latitude of exposure from the shadows to the highlights. To make General Sherman even more challenging to photograph is the large crowds General Sherman attracts on the accessible trails surrounding the tree. In February 2023, with many feet of snow on the ground from one of California's wettest winters on record, the accessible trails guard-rails were completely covered so for the first time I experienced the ability to walk up to General Sherman and delicately with reverence touch its trunk. I quickly realized this was the first time in my life I could try and capture General Sherman in its natural habitat without looking like it was a National Park. However, I still had two more challenges. One, there was a large crowd of people who also wanted to stand next to General Sherman and the other challenge was capturing the entire tree in a photo. I decided to take out my tripod, put on an ND filter and find the best place to set-up. I was going to capture General Sherman as a vertical panoramic image which is exactly what I accomplished. First, I captured the top of the tree at the slowest shutter speed that wouldn't blur the image. Second, I waited very patiently and eventually timed a long exposure at the base of the tree so my image wouldn't show the visitors so I can capture General Sherman in its natural environment without park infrastructure or visitors crowding the trunk. This photo means the world to me as I believe the Sequoia National Forest and Park is one of our world wonders that we should all thank the National Park Service for its work in preserving and allowing visitors to experience the magic of the General Sherman tree stand proudly in the Sequoia National park and Forest.