Wednesday, 27 November 2024

Costa Rica 1992: Trees As Growing Platforms


      The cloud forest was different from what I had expected.  It was just plant on top of plant, on top of plant, thanks to the abundance of moisture provided by the ever-present clouds.  The elevation of the jungle means that it is constantly sitting in the moisture laden clouds that move in from  the Pacific Ocean.

    That makes the huge trees a perfect platform for mosses, and vines, which in turn become platforms for other plants like ferns.  I had never seen trees like these before, which support so much other plant life, but years later in the Ancient Forest near McBride, I did see some big old cedars whose thick branches supported large clumps of moss on top of them.  The Ancient Forest is situated in an area where moist clouds hang around on the mid-slope of the mountains, keeping the mosses wet and thriving.

    I had found a 400 ASA roll of film at home before we left.  I didn’t know how old it was, but it was the right speed for photos taken under the dark of the tree canopy.  




    You can view my paintings at:  davidmarchant2.ca

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