A dead tree holds its ground as the Milky Way rises over the Colorado high country. Copyright 2025 Eric D. Brown
Some shots you plan. Others find you.
I was out scouting for Milky Way locations in Colorado during the summer. I had a bunch of places in mind, with plans in place, knew when the Milky Way would rise, and a hope that the weather would hold.
I was looking for an interesting foreground, then I found this tree.
Dead for years, maybe decades. Bare branches reaching upward like they were still trying to grow. Roots wrapped around the rocks, holding on long after there was any reason to. The kind of subject that makes you stop, hike up to it, and say, "That's it."
I came back that night. Set up in the dark and waited for the galaxy to rise. The cold settled in. The quiet did too; the quiet you only find miles from nowhere.
When the Milky Way finally climbed into frame behind those branches, it felt like the tree had been waiting for precisely this moment. Standing there in the dark, still holding its ground, with a few billion stars as a backdrop.
There’s no deeper meaning here, although I guess you could argue it’s a case for ‘being prepared for when luck finds you’. But ultimately, I just wanted to share a photo of a dead tree I stumbled across and a clear night in Colorado.
Sometimes the best shots come from showing up with a plan and letting the rest happen.
More of my photography at imagesbyericbrown.com or on Instagram.
