Another small branch on the right and whole thing topples. I don't have to tell you just how dynamic this planting is. Nor do I have to tell you just how beautiful it is. Aside from everything else the profusion of lush plants, all at the pinnacle of health, bring the whole thing to life. This and the other photos shown here are from UNIÓN DEL BONSAI ESPAÑOL's website. The event was Nishikiten 2019 

I stumbled across these photos by accident while I was looking for something else. They're from a bonsai event that was held recently near Barcelona. The text with details about the event and venue are below in English and Spanish

I loosely edited a very mediocre machine translation* and came up with the following. I hope I got it right (the original Spanish is below)
"Dear friends and fans of bonsai. Last weekend's bonsai exposition was held at the Nau Dents de Serra at the Roca Umbert Cultural Center in Granollers la Nishikiten. Organized by the Art of Bonsai Association, we enjoyed another year of an incomparable setting for a great exhibition. In addition to this, we also host other activities related to Japanese arts and cculture"

*Just the other day I said machine translations are getting much better. Well, 'some machine translations...'

No names are given if this isn't an English ivy I'll eat my bonsai embroidered baseball cap 

Here;s the Spanish... "Queridos amigos y aficionados del bonsái. El fin de semana pasado se celebró en la Nau Dents de Serra del Centre Cultural Roca Umbert de Granollers la Nishikiten. Organizada por L’Associació Art del Bonsái pudimos disfrutar un año más de un marco incomparable para disfrutar de una gran exposición, además de poder contar con diferentes actividades relacionadas con el mundo japonés."

Here's that tasty embroidered cap I said I'd eat
You can eat one too if you want

European olive   

 You can tell Japanese maples by the leaves, though there are other features that give them away 

As you can see I picked just four trees (all cropped above, with the originals below). There are close to seventy bonsai images on the original site. By only showing four, I hope to encouraged you to visit them. And when you're done visiting them you can...

VISIT STONE LANTERN for a SLEW of GREAT HOLIDAY SPECIALS 

If you'd like to see more, here's your link to the original site

VISIT STONE LANTERN for a SLEW of GREAT HOLIDAY SPECIALS

I'm not sure I've ever seen a Privet* with such great ramification and overall development. It belongs to Mauro Stemberger 

I've been meaning to show you these photos that Harry Harrington took at this fall's Bonsai San Show and now that I'm finally getting around to it, I'm wondering what took me so long. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do

Here's part of what Harry wrote about them... "I finally got a full set of images from the European Bonsai San Show in Saulieu edited and published on Bonsai4me.com

My express thanks have to go to Stephanie Fred Chenal for the work they put in to what is my favourite European Bonsai Show. It really is worth putting the time into traveling to Burgundy next October!

Pictured here are an exceptional Privet from Mauro Stemberger, one of the best Norway Spruce I’ve ever seen by Luis Balino and a beautiful accent from Russ Farley"
Continued below...

I cropped the photo above for a closer look at the brilliant ramification and the rest of this impressive tree 

Continued from above...
If you'd like a lot more information as well as the links Harry included, you can visit him on Facebook, and for a lot more Bonsai San photos you can also visit his excellent bonsai4me website

Stay posted for more of Harry's photos from Bonsai San

*As long as we're on the subject of Privets and Harry, he's got some great ones too. You can find them on his bonsai4me and in his bonsai books (see below)

This exceptional accent plant is by Russ Farely

Harry's original shot of what he calls... "one of the best Norway Spruce I’ve ever seen by Luis Balino"

I cropped the photo just above for a closer look

And here's a real close up that Harry took 

 Stay posted for more of Harry's great shots from the Bonsai San Show. We've just scratched the surface

 Two of Harry's Excellent Bonsai Books
Now part of our Holiday Special at Stone Lantern

Here's David Benavente's caption for this tree... "Qué buena evolución! Ya está a punto de brotar otra vez! Me encanta este tejo! " And here's a pretty good machine* translation. "What a good evolution! It is about to sprout again! I love this yew" I cropped David out of the original photo (it's just below) for a look at just the tree

I'm seeing lots of deadwood dominate trees these days. Like what you saw (and still see) in Japan during the Kimura heyday back in the 20th century.

Only now, much of the deadwood is rougher and less finished looking. And though I appreciate the Japanese masterpiece junipers with their smooth white deadwood (see below), still I think more rugged deadwood is a positive trend, especially for naturalistic bonsai lovers

I've long been a fan of David Benavente. His bonsai are exceptional, as is the way he displays them in his enchanted Estudio de Bonsai (I dug out a couple old photos for you, see below). And then there's his always photogenically cheerful demeanor. Portraits of a happy bonsai artist

The original photo with David's two thumbs up

Cropped for a closer look at the deadwood and ground cover

  A piece of David's enchanted Estudio of Bonsai. From 2011

Shadow dancing. Also from 2011

Here's an example of a highly stylized Juniper from Japan...

 This magnificent masterpiece is the handiwork of Isao Omachi

  *Machine translations have come a long way in the last couple years

Show stopper. The price on this Shimpaku (Sargent juniper) is a mere $350,000. It was offered and sold! at the recent Nippon Bonsai Taikan Exhibition (the evidence on the price is below). All the photos shown here are courtesy of Bill Valavanis

All the photos shown here are trees that were offered for sale at this year’s Nippon Bonsai Taikan Exhibition. You can find these and other great photos. along with details on Bill Valavanis' Bonsai Blog

  
23 Million yen is the asking price for this Shimpaku juniper. That's a mere 230,000 dollars  

Many of the trees offered were styled by Masahiko Kimura (The Magician).
This Japanese black pine by Mr Kimura sold for $30,000 (the red tag indicates the tree was sold)

Another Japanese black pine. Only $58,000 (divide the yen by 100 to get the price in U.S. dollars)

Here's Bill's caption for this one...
"Sargent juniper created by Shinji Suzuki which has won numerous awards and has been popular in
exhibitions and print. The red tapes on the signs indicate the item has been sold. Sold US$180,000." 

Here's the one at the top of the post with the evidence

Looks like some great demos, including one by Bill. It's this weekend 
so there's still time to make your plans if you are anywhere near Kannapolis, NC

The Beat Goes On...
Hundreds of Items Marked Down 

Here's Matt Reel's caption for this tree... "Engelmann Spruce grown by Mt. Hood. One of my old favorites acquired via work trade with Randy Knight back in the high school days." 

It has been a while since we visited Matt Reel, one of our North American artists who apprenticed in Japan and who has since made his home in Portland Oregon, the undisputed capitol of American bonsai

Matt studied with Shinji Suzuki, who is also Michael Hagedorn's Japanese bonsai sensei (Michael, one of our favorites here on Bark is another returned apprentice who settled in the Portland area)

 Matt's Englemann spruce dispayed with a scroll and companion in an earthy Tokonoma 

In subdued light 

This close up offers a good look at the scroll as well as Matt's wiring and the tree's blue green needles

I just donated to Wikipedia. It's an absolutely invaluable resource and is offered for free to anyone and everyone. I use it almost daily and feel that donating a few dollars is the least I can do. If you use it, you might want to consider helping Jamie Wales and his largely volunteer authors and editors

Here's a couple images and a little text from Wikipedia... "Picea engelmannii is a medium-sized to large evergreen tree growing to 25 metres (82 ft) – 40 metres (130 ft) tall, exceptionally to 65 metres (213 ft) tall, and with a trunk diameter of up to 1.5 metres (4.9 ft)"

Englemann spruce range

If you'd like to see more bonsai by Matt Reel,
here's your link to his Facebook Timeline 

The Beat Goes On...
Numerous Items Marked Down 

NEW CYBER WEEK SPECIALS
at Stone Lantern

Bonsai Hand Tools* Marked Down 20% to 50%
Bonsai Wire Marked Down
Bonsai Pots Marked Down
Embroidered Clothing Marked Down
Numerous Other Items
Marked Down

FREE Shipping Continental U.S.
Orders 25.00+

*1 tool cannot be marked down

Tony Tickle's caption with this photo... "Mr Miyagi, please DON'T use that huge cutter on the tree."

I've long been a fan of Tony Tickle. His creativity and sense of humor stand out in our world bonsai community. And his bonsai artistry and craftsmanship in other media (like these Mr Miyagi sculptures) is also top notch 

Less than 6" tall

This lovely Sumac clump from Tony's timeline makes me want to go out and start digging some up (it's actually too late for that, but there's always the spring). Tony's caption reads... "Rhus and pot by my good friend Tom Benda Old school Michael"

 I found the tree images shown here on Tony's Facebook timeline. Tony also has an excellent website that's always worth a visit.

Before & after Swamp paperback (Melaleuca ericfolia) by Gerard Schoofs. No dramatic change here, just some deft trimming that opens the branches up enough for a bird to fly through (inspired by John Naka)

Today we've got another bonsai that looks like a tree (remember John Naka's quote* from last week?). It's a Melaleuca ericifolia, commonly known as Swamp paperbark. It's in the Myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is native to south-eastern Australia

By the way, if you think you've seen this tree before, it was probably here. I prepared this post while being unaware that it's a duplicate (more or less). It's a long complicated story having to do with altitude sickness, jet lag and sleep deprivation. I hope you enjoy this new value added version

Before. Looks pretty good

After. Looks even better



 Full sized Swamp paperbark (Melaleuca ericfolia)
in its native Australian habitat
courtesy of the rich-in-information wonderful Wikipedia

Here's you link for more trees by Gerard Schoofs

*"Make your bonsai look like a tree" is a famous John Naka quote

BLACK FRIDAY
& CYBER MONDAY SPECIALS!

Chinese elm bridge with roots on both ends. Not something you see everyday. This and the other photos shown here are from Hong Kong Bonsai Pots

Hong Kong Bonsai Pots puts up a steady stream of fascinating bonsai and penjing, including the three shown here. Even if Penjing isn't your thing, I think you'll enjoy how unusual and creative many of their offering are

A delightful and unusual top heavy root-over-rock bonsai. I think the tree is a Bougainvillea

Another sweet penjing tray planting. I can't tell for sure what the variety is, so we'll leave it at that

 The Chinese Art of Bonsai & Potted Landscapes

Here's Todd Schlafer's caption for this tree... "Limber Pine - Another tree I’ve had for many years"

I got interested in this tree because you just don't see that many Limber pine bonsai. Especially back here in the Northeast (they grow in the mountains of the west). Also, I've been following Todd Schlafer for a while and enjoy what he's been up to
Continued below...

I like the natural grey-white color of the bark. Though it's important to apply lime sulfur to deadwood in order to help prevent rot, it never looks quite right when it's fresh and the wood is bright white (you can never completely stop deadwood from rotting but you can slow it way down with proper treatment). 

Continued from above...
Pinus flexilis, the limber pine, occurs in the mountains of the Western United States, Mexico, and Canada. It is also called Rocky Mountain white pine.

One of the world's oldest living Limber Pines grows on the banks of the upper North Saskatchewan River at Whirlpool Point in Alberta. Recent measurements give a maximum girth of 185". In 1986 a core sample 10 cm was retrieved by two researchers who counted 400 rings. Extrapolating this data gives an age close to 3000 years

If you'd like to see more of what Todd is up to, here's your link to his Facebook timeline

A not very good Wikipedia photo of a Limber pine in nature.
(I'm a big fan of Wikipedia and I don't really a want to insult them,
especially knowing they are dependent on what people offer)

On the outside chance that you care, here's the Limber pine range
(from Wikipedia)

Here's another bonsai that looks a lot like a full sized tree. It's a European beech (Fagus sylvatica) that belongs to Walter Pall 

Before we launch into today's main topics, I am looking for a source for some European beeches (scroll all the way down for more)

This post started out to be a continuation of our discussion about bonsai that look like full sized trees, and has since morphed into a some comments about photographing bonsai

We've only got one tree this time, but it's a good one. The inimitable Walter Pall is the artist/owner. It's photographed with three backdrops, which encouraged our quick study of bonsai photography

There is of course much more to photographing bonsai than just varying backgrounds (each of which in this case has a real effect on how we see the tree). For example, there's also the lighting, and though we can't see the source, we can certainly see the effect when trees are well or poorly lit
Continued below... 

The background makes a difference in how we see the tree

Continued from above...
Another important factor for anyone shooting their own trees is, whether there's any distracting clutter (aka noise) in the shot. You don't have to be a professional photographer to clean up the clutter before you shoot. And if you do clean it up, people are much more apt to appreciate and enjoy your trees

Another equally important consideration is the point at which the photo is taken. This is where things like focal point, height and angle come into play. These things when taken into consideration can play directly into things like whether your bonsai looks like a tree or not, or simply how good it looks. Hint: experimenting with shooting up from points below the center of the tree can enhance the power and beauty of almost any tree 

Continued from above...
Speaking of European beech, I'm looking for some seedlings or saplings. I'd like to see if we can get a a couple full sized ones going here in northern Vermont (zone 4a and climbing) and would also like to grow some on for future bonsai. If you know of any, please let me know and thank you in advance <wayne@stonelantern.com> 

Here's a link to more great trees by Walter Pall