The elm that was

This is the latest in my Elm series; my last image being Ghost elm.

I captured the shadow of a very large and healthy Cornish elm Ulmus minor subsp. angustifolia growing in East Sussex. It is one of the last large elm trees remaining alive in England, following the spread of Dutch Elm Disease, which has all but wiped out the majestic elm. The dark chasm depicts figuratively the loss of the elm in the English rural landscape.

I used burn and dodge tools in Adobe Lightroom to create the effect of a chasm in the ground. I left a subtle hint of colour amongst the darkness to help suggest depth (visible at full size). Some small adjustments of greens and yellows helped enhance the already strong tree shadow in the grass. Taken with a Lumix GF2 with 7mm lens (14mm at 35mm equivalent), f11, ISO100.

Gabriel Hemery