I stumbled across this juniper tree 8 years ago while visiting Joshua Tree National Park for the first time. I was immediately interested in it, especially when framed with this vertical monzogranite rock (which dominate the landscape in this region). I quickly took several photos but did not linger because it was right on top of a campsite and I felt like I was invading the campers’ space. ISO 250, 16mm, f11 @ 1/60Horizontal wide angle shot, shooting south

After I arrived back home and began editing my images, I came across the images of this tree and wished I had stayed a little longer, or had gone back to photograph it again during the trip. 

Eight years later, while planning a desert wildflower trip to Joshua Tree, I made sure to include this little tree in my photographic plans, and thought it would make a good subject for a blog post on photographing one subject, multiple ways.

ISO 250, 16mm, f11 @ 1/45Vertical wide angle shot, shooting south

While researching for my trip, I located the approximate area where this tree is located on my Photo Pills app, and checked for light direction at sunrise and sunset, as well as the moon’s phase, location of the Milky Way, and North Star. I did this so I could determine in advance which shots were viable and which were not. I found this tree would be best shot late afternoon to sunset, and was also well situated to include the Milky Way in the background for nighttime shots. ISO 250, 80mm, f16 @ 1/15Horizontal telephoto shot, shooting south

I always google images of areas I am going to visit beforehand and Joshua Tree was no exception. I hadn’t realized just how famous this little tree was until I came across repeated photos of it online. I noticed most of the images were about the same in terms of composition and focal length (much like the original image I captured 8 years ago). I was looking to produce something a little different on this trip. ISO 100, 105mm, f16 @ 1/10Horizontal telephoto shot, shooting south

One of the other things I did to prepare for this trip was to locate where this tree was in proximity to the nearby campground. I wanted to make sure I occupied the campsite just below it so I would have the freedom of photographing it at night without creeping people out. Plus, it’s just luxurious to sleep close to your night subjects. Unfortunately, the park system changed this campground to a reserve campground and all sites were booked. As a result, I had to lurk around legitimate campers to get these shots.The majority of images posted here were taken during the same late afternoon simply because the light was the best at that time and the clouds were cooperating. Thank you clouds!

ISO 100, 150m, f16 @ 1/15Vertical telephoto, shooting north

I wanted to shoot with different focal lengths, in different directions, and with different points of view to highlight the different possibilities this one subject provided. When I took the shot with my fisheye lens, I was actually underneath the tree, shooting almost straight up. The fisheye gives the illusion of being farther away.

ISO: 100, 15mm, f16 @1/20A super wide angle shot with a fisheye lens, shooting north.

In order to get the night images, I had to get into the campground at night. I noticed during my many hikes around the campground, that about 1/3 of the reserved sites weren’t actually occupied by evening, so I took a shot and drove into the campground at 10:00 pm and no one was parked at this site, so I took a long nap and scampered out at 2:30 am to start shooting.

ISO 800, 14mm, f2.8 @ 30 seconds (multiple images stacked in post process)Vertical wide angle night shot, shooting north

Just as I was wrapping up, I heard a male voice from the wilderness bordering the campground say, “Hello.” I was so startled that I nearly peed myself but quickly recovered and greeted him. He was a photographer looking to get some night shots of this delightful little tree as well. We chatted for a few minutes as I broke down my gear and he set up his. I wished him a delightful trip and got the hell out of the campground before the sun came up and I was found out!

ISO 800, 14mm, f2.8 @ 30 seconds (two images stacked in post process)Vertical wide angle night shot, shooting north

I hope you enjoyed a few ways to pull more images out of a subject!