Larch avenue Photo

Photographer’s Note

Old larch avenue near Matisi village - you see the new road next to it on the right side.
Larches are not native trees in Latvia - they do not seed themselves here. But when planted - these trees easily grow bigger here than in their homeland - in circumference more than 4 m and in height well above 40 meters.
Northern Vidzeme is characterised by such long avenues of trees which sometimes are longer than 10 km. Avenues are that common that only recently state administration realised that should be started registration and protection of especially beautiful ones.
This avenue is renovned by having the largest colony of white storks (Ciconia ciconia), where are some 50 active nests - in some trees even 5 nests. This avenue could be dangerous to walk - storks often bring snakes for their children. And snakes escape from the nests, falling on earth...

Liora, Eagle78, nwoehnl, FrancisSanto, bt9091, Davids, nmess, jpinkham has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Liora (1857) 2004-05-03 18:47

Great composition Gatis! I was looking for stork nests but didn't see any... out of season?

spence (1679) 2004-05-03 19:50

Very nice depth to this Gatis - I like the curves in the track. Great composition.

ydavid (294) 2004-05-03 21:12

Great scenery. Beautiful colors and very good composition.Very nice shot.

bgladman (1153) 2004-05-03 22:08

Hi Gatis. I was attracted to this by the line of trees converging into the distance. Also like the winding trail dividing the two lines. I did a WS, let me know what you think

[workshop] [compare] +

ulex (21) 2004-05-04 5:50

Hello Gatis,
I like the perspective.
Didn't you try to make shots from different points? I just wonder how better it would be if you make a few steps to the right or squat down. IMO the picture would be more attractive if the path starts from the corner but not from the center. bgladman's workshop is a good try to illustrate my words :)

Eagle78 (1925) 2004-05-04 7:50

Wow..so simple and so beautiful Gatis! Love the natural patterns made by the trees and the depth they give here. Besides the car traces on the grass road are precious. Wonderful colors, looks like a painting..great job indeed. Love the peace here..a favourite :)

lost (694) 2004-05-04 8:56

Great prespective..and composition..well done.

claudiaf (4404) 2004-05-04 9:46 [Comment]

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nwoehnl (118) 2004-05-04 13:39

So much beauty to be found in such a simple natural setting. A great play with perspective you made here, the alley almost seems to reach into infinity. I also like the curving tracks that provide an additional lead-in, and the asymmetrical composition is very nicely done, too. Contrast is at its prime in this shot. Well done, Gatis.

desman (2130) 2004-05-07 4:54

ca me change des plantanes, merci

FrancisSanto (525) 2004-05-08 5:51 [Comment]

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yesterday (9787) 2004-05-16 4:48

You have so many pic.:-)) I toke this one this time.

Excellent compoced, very sharp, wonderful perspective, great light and contrast, good color.
There is some picturesque in it.

bt9091 (103) 2004-06-02 18:15

the slight hint of green that remains on the trees adds some life to this otherwise dry landscape. The angle you chose is perfect. I also like how the trees draw your eye to the vanishing point, but they do not prevent the horizon line from being seen. Very nicely done!! I never knew Latvia was such a BEAUTIFUL place. Thanks for sharing.

meirpaz (310) 2005-08-29 11:00 [Comment]

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bamby_w (19) 2007-02-24 16:17

very impressionists-like, great composition, and beautifull colors

jpinkham (844) 2008-08-17 10:03

I’m a late-comer to this image, Gatis, because I just happened to see at on the TrekEarth landing page. But I like it a lot. The converging, parallel lines of larches would be striking themselves, against the gray sky. But I especially like the unexpected twist of the tracks that run between them.

Jim