Winner of the Finest Bonsai at the 6th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition. It's a Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii) that belongs to  Suthin Sukosolvisit. I cropped the original (see below) for a closer look. The photo was taken by Oscar (Bonsai Empire) with a hand held camera and no special lighting. Stay posted for the rest of the winners and other show photos

Back home, exhausted, exhilarated and just a little crazy. If you weren’t there, you’ll have to settle for some photos and a few words. If you were there, you’ll understand the difference between up close and personal, and photographs. And why it’s so important to make the effort to visit the best bonsai exhibitions (more on this below).

Before we go any further, thanks to Bill Valavanis, the driving force behind it all, and to his tireless bonsai warriors (with a special nod to Patrick). The whole experience was magnificent. Even spectacular. If you were there, you understand. If you weren’t… see you in 2020
 

The winning tree again. This time as part of the whole display

Thanks also to our friend Oscar (Bonsai Empire) for taking and posting these photos. Oscar is a real pro and his Bonsai Empire is always worth a visit (facebook, youtube). Especially now. Oscar has posted all the winners and much more

This photo and the last two in this post are shots Oscar took while walking around the display area. No names or type trees are given. You'll have to wait for the Album for photos and descriptions of all the trees (stones too)

Continued from above…
Photos never do bonsai justice. In fact, it’s not even close. No fault of Oscar’s (or for that matter no fault of Joe Noga, whose studio shots will show up when the 6th Album comes out). The raw emotional impact and the realization of just how massive many of the trees are and some of the details you almost never see with photos all add up to an experience that can’t really be described and will never be completely captured with photos. The closest in my experience are up close photos that show pieces of trees (art photos), like the on just below

I like this type art photo. Sometimes they express something that might be missed with a photo of the whole tree. Beyond just detail. I lifted it from Oscar's show video

Stay posted fro the rest of the winners and other show photos