Scouting Can Make the Shot
This is not the shot I wanted to make; I could not get the angle fast enough: pure white-out on the sky hence the cut-off tips of branches here. And I had to fight the Leica 50/2 APO ASPH flare issues by careful positioning.
It was a new area (best grove I’ve found yet of Ancient Bristlecones), and the sun was moving fast. Knowing the light in advance, one can choose the tree and focal length and time of day to make it work—some return trip perhaps. From time to time I offer one-on-one photo tours in this magnificent area.