Lone Oak in Stoney Gorge

Posted by Stephen Phillips (San Francisco, United States) on 2 October 2008 in Landscape & Rural and Portfolio.

Rugged range land along the northwest fringes of the Sacramento Valley in California.

[notebook]: Some will be thrilled know - while others may be dismayed to learn - that I hope to be driving through our little town of Loleta, California on Saturday morning. The forecast is for high winds and heavy rain - so we shall wait and see. Best wishes to all...

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Comments (25)

Kylie Greenan from Richmond, Australia

This is great Stephen, the colours are quite contrast from the foreground to that saphire sky and here they are very striking. What a stunning landscape you have captured, has a very paintery feel. I love it.

2 Oct 2008 5:44am

dj.tigersprout from San Bruno, CA, United States

Stephen! this is stunning!!! wow! definitely an instant favorite of mine! beautifully done -- this landscape pulls at my heartstrings! bravo!!

2 Oct 2008 6:00am

Mike from Lichfield, United Kingdom

What a lovely looking place. Great photo Stephen.

2 Oct 2008 6:59am

Evelyne Dubos from Le Mans, France

A great composition and a landscape like i love them... The lonely tree add a lot of impact to the scene.

2 Oct 2008 8:06am

Betty from New Jersey, United States

Fantastic... beautiful landscape and wonderful composition. I love the colors. Nice work!

2 Oct 2008 9:38am

dogilicious from Millerstown, PA, United States

Great shot. Happy to be out of Loreto?

2 Oct 2008 12:03pm

Calusarus from St Sorlin en Valloire, France

An unreal landscape. Beautiful shot.

2 Oct 2008 12:23pm

Zygène from morlaix, France

Un magnifique paysage joliment cadré avec cet arbre isolé.

2 Oct 2008 2:14pm

@Zygène: Je vous remercie, Zygene. Cela a toujours été parmi mes lieux préférés. Le seul problème est de plus en plus de clôtures - partout vous recherchez. C'est triste.

Francesc B. from région parisienne, France

Fantastic and arid landscape with this lonely tree. I like your composition, Stephen.

2 Oct 2008 2:20pm

Lorraine from Gatineau, Canada

Rough lovely stunnning landscape, I love everything about it, and of course the tree :)

2 Oct 2008 2:30pm

alex centrella from California, United States

wow, another memory shot, i remeber this area well..

2 Oct 2008 3:17pm

@alex centrella: It is a remarkable area - I just wish they'd stop putting up the fences that keep materializing.

willow from Chelsea, United States

It does feel very lonely out there with all its tree friends so far away. Great sense of distance and space in this image. And I think Loleta might look really cool in the rain! Have a good trip.

2 Oct 2008 3:54pm

@willow: Thanks for the thought and good wishes. Most everything (except the cake) looks great out in the rain. But heavy rains with 50 mile-an-hour (80.5 km/hr ) winds make shooting a little problematic. As I said earlier - we will see...

yz from Hungary

Beautiful landscape, really poetic.

2 Oct 2008 4:13pm

Alun Lambert from cheshire, United Kingdom

very nice image, i do love the lone tree

2 Oct 2008 4:16pm

Daily Phototherapy from Sacramento, United States

Nice graphic texture of the hills.

2 Oct 2008 5:40pm

Thomas Griffioen from Rotterdam, Netherlands

Beautiful landscape Stephen! Makes me dream over the mountains... Do you need an assistent?

2 Oct 2008 8:58pm

@Thomas Griffioen: We could assist each other - a friend with a camera is always welcome.

lasiate from Philippines

un paysage bien désolé sans doute de la main humaine

2 Oct 2008 10:45pm

Observing from West Cheshire, United Kingdom

Breathtaking panorama.... from prairie to hills to mountains and beyond to the clouds.

2 Oct 2008 10:48pm

@Observing: Thanks, Mike - it was one of those magical days...

DarkElf from Perth, Australia

this is a great composition indeed! i really like the desaturated colours - they emphasize the rugged look of this place - really great capture!

3 Oct 2008 2:21am

gbe from kansas city, United States

beautiful, lonely landscape...very well done

3 Oct 2008 2:49am

One from Açores, Portugal

Very beautiful image, I like the light and especially the tree in the midst of what seems to be a desert.

3 Oct 2008 3:14am

sherri from Little Rock, Arkansas, United States

A lone tree is always a great image...very nice.

3 Oct 2008 5:21am

@sherri: Thanks, Sherri. The entire top of California remains 'wild' feeling and sparsely populated. Yet, if you pay attention - there are signs of that changing almost everywhere.