Backlit foxtail pine growing out of granite in the Big Arroyo, Sequoia National Park, photographed at 500mm.

The Life Of a Foxtail

Big Arroyo, Sequoia National Park, California

Late sun raked the tree from behind, lighting the needles while the rock stayed in shadow — a separation that lasts about twenty minutes a day. At 500mm from across the basin the background compresses to a flat wash and everything competing simply falls outside the frame. Backlight at that focal length is unforgiving about flare, so I shaded the front element by hood and shot into it anyway.

Nikon Z 7_2 · TAMRON 150-500mm F/5-6.7 Di III VC VXD A057Z · 500mm · f/9 · 1/1000 · ISO 640

July 16, 2026

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