Scott Shephard Photography

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12-08-13 Symbiosis

2013 12-08 Symbiosis by Watertown, South Dakota, photographer Scott Shephard Deb and I took a hike through a nature area on our visit to St. John in the US Virgin Islands this past June. I spent quite a bit of time photographing the plants that grew on plants here, much like this air plant is growing on the side of a small tree, which is also host to a vine that is curling upward. Are these plants friendly and helpful to each other? And is that what symbiosis means? Or are we seeing evidence of parasitism?

And are these questions really necessary if, like me, all that is striking about this place are the rich green hues and filtered light in a shaded forest?

Canon 5DIII 1/60s f/4.5 ISO640 60mm

For those who might be interested in seeing a more mundane but much more "unnatural" place for one of these to grow, check out this photo, which I took on a walk in Charlotte Amalie in the BVI:

Air Plant (?)