Detail view of an old Willow tree with Ivy vines crawling up its trunk. Taken in late afternoon/early evening. Guess which way is west?

Of course, not long after I shot this, the tree was broken in two by a horrendous storm. Willow trees are notorious for not living long lives, and as big and as rotten as this tree was getting, I figured I'd better shoot it while the sun was still up...so to speak...

Things I used to make this shot? A Nikon body, either a D80 or D300, I can't remember which, the Nikkor 70-300 VR lens that was set about mid-way in its range, (this lens is WAY under-appreciated for what it can do from its higher end of the range on down...not the greatest at 300, but from around 250 or so down to 70, it's just dandy!) on a Manfrotto tripod with a Manfrotto head...

NOTE: After some vague memory recall, I MAY have shot this image with the Nikkor 85mm f1.8 lens...in any case, what I said about the 70-300 VR still stands. -SW