Imagine if you will, taking a picture of a tree. Get every branch from the base to the tip in the picture.
Sounds easy, right?
Now imagine that the tree is 3,200 years old, 247 feet tall, has two billion needles and is continuing to grow even as you look at it. All of a sudden, that little iPhone you’ve got in your pocket just isn’t going to cut it.
The Giant Sequoias only grow in Northern California, and they only grow in one tiny little area: the western slope of the Sierra Nevada. One of the oldest and largest trees growing there is the President. It’s 247 feet tall, sports a 27 foot diameter trunk (which is svelte compared to two of other local trees), and has the largest crown of any of the Giant Sequoias in the grove.
So how hard can it be to take a picture of a tree? It’s not like it’s going to wander off or anything, right? Well, this particular tree is so massive that it’s never been photographed in it’s entirety. Ever.
The 88th Annual Trek to the Nation’s Christmas Tree takes place Sunday, December 8th, 2013, at 2:30pm in Kings Canyon National Park.