I know the Mallorn tree in Tolkien’s Lothlorien is supposed to have leaves of gold but the bark is a silvery grey and when I saw this tree in Butchart Gardens lit through a small hole in the clouds it made me wander if Sam and Frodo might not have taken shelter under it’s branches. The tree was covered in droplets of water from the rain the night before and it held the light beautifully. I did darken the area around the top and top right of the tree to emphasize the contrast between the tree and the background but the fact that I underexposed the shot by one stop meant that the light that was hitting the water droplets on the tree became the dominant light source in the frame and gave the image more punch. I was very happy with the mood that the picture evokes and the story that it begins to tell. I was looking for non-traditional images of Butchart Gardens and I think I succeeded in that here.

-Russell Berg