An ancient bristlecone pine in one of North America’s most inhospitable, yet uniquely beautiful environments. These trees are some of the oldest in the world, some over 4,500 years old. The twisted, gnarled growth stand as a testament to the bristlecone's ability to thrive in the conditions found above 10,000 feet in elevation. Low level lighting (LLL) was used to illuminate the Bristlecone pine.

Alongside the bristlecone pine is the Milky Way that is 13.51 billion years old . . . so . . . relative to these two, I'm not that old!

The loss of a night's sleep was a small price to pay to be out under the stars photographing these majestic pines. The oldest of these Bristlecone Pines were growing at the time the Woolly Mammoth went extinct and Stonehenge was being completed.

Best viewed large (L)

Tags:   Bristlecone Pine Ancient Bristlecone Pine twisted gnarled thrive inhospitable Milky Way stars astrophotography LLL low level lighting Brad Eide Nikon D850 Nikon 14-24mm f2.8 Gitzo tripod long exposure

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. . . on Mt. Whitney (14,505 feet) as framed through Mobius Arch located in the Alabama Hills. The Alabama Hills area is located on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevadas.

Driving into the Alabama Hills I was surrounded by a sea of golden brown boulders of varying shapes and sizes extending in every direction. The unique rock formations has resulted in the location being used for filming movies including Django Unchained, Gladiator, and Iron Man.

Tags:   California Alabama Hills Mt. Whitney Sierra Nevadas Mobius Arch arch first light sunrise blue hour stars landscape Brad Eide Nikon D850 Nikon 16-35mm f4 Gitzo tripod

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An ancient bristlecone pine in one of North America’s most inhospitable, yet uniquely beautiful environments. These trees are some of the oldest in the world, some reaching over 4,500 years of age. The twisted, gnarled growth stand as a testament to the bristlecone's ability to thrive in the conditions found above 10,000 feet in elevation .

The loss of a night's sleep was a small price to pay to be out under the stars photographing these majestic tress. The oldest of these Bristlecone Pines were growing at the time the Woolly Mammoth went extinct and Stonehenge was being completed.

Best viewed large (L)

Tags:   Ancient Bristlecone Pine Bristlecone Pine Milky Way twisted gnarled stars astrophotography nightscape LLL low level lighting Brad Eide Nikon D850 Nikon 14-24mm f2.8 Gitzo long exposure tripod

© All Rights Reserved