Lone Snow Gum, Mount Hotham, Victoria

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THE STORY

A friend of mine Scott has a great shot from Mount Hotham. It’s of a lone snow gum covered in snow. The light is soft. The composition is sublime, surreal and minimalistic. It’s one of those images I wish I’d taken.

I’d been tempted to ask where he took it. However, getting the same shot would be plagiarism. Besides, there wouldn’t be any satisfaction for me in merely copying his image. I love finding my own landscapes and creating something unique.

On this morning, I drove up and down the Hotham road looking for a lone snow gum. Behind one of the ski lodges I found a gum on a steep slope (see next page). Above me I noticed another clump of trees. The wind was blowing hard and it was snowing heavily, pelting me on the side of my face. Of course I’d left my gloves in the car too! “Do I or don’t I?”, I asked myself. “Could I be bothered walking up the slope to those trees?” Of course.

Climbing up the slope I finally made it to the top. Sheltering behind one tree, I noticed this one in front of me. On my knees, I edged forward.

However, there was a problem. My viewfinder was completely fogged. I couldn’t see a thing. Pointing my camera towards the tree and guessing how it was framed, I fired off a few random shots. I checked them on the back of the camera and decided this was it. This was the shot.