December: Nature's Christmas Trees, White Mountains, New Hampshire

I found this wonderful scene that screams nature's Christmas trees while hiking the higher elevations up Cannon Mountain. December is the time New Englander's are excited about snow and the winter so I hope this image builds joy and excitement for the upcoming season. Snow presents some unique lighting situations in the New England forest. Here there is reflected light bouncing off the inside of the trees, similar to what happens inside the slot canyons of Utah at midday. You would not get this off of a dark spruce in summer. The low angle winter sun also offers backlighting to highlight the unique double top of the spruce tree on the right side of this shot.