Happy new year! :)

Hi everyone, I wish you all very happy new year, extremely happy actually to compensate for the last one! I quitted my job in the factory to pursue a new carreer on my own terms as a professional photographer and a bonsai business owner, so I should have more time now to play with the trees as well. To start off a new year, here are some pics - first of all a toast to you all:

And here is my hornbeam after 5 growing seasons after I removed all the dry leaves. I cannot wait to wire it in spring again!

And here is my field maple after 4 growing seasons. I should carve it a bit to create some taper in those trunk to branch transitions.

This is it for now, take care of yourselves and stay healthy :)

Intermezzo

Hi everyone, no posts from me in a while now, cause I am prepraring myself for my new profession I would like to start my luck in beside bonsais. It´s photography and my hope is that along with bonsai I can make living by doing these 2 hobbies of mine. Here are my 2 latest portraits of my daughter Emma and grandma Jolana. And more bonsai related posts should pour in next spring, when I intend to practice bonsai more intensively with new season enrolling :)

Another literati pine

And back to bonsai finally :P I collected this pine in 2018 from a concrete slab like the rest of my pines. I tried to put some movement into the trunk last year and after I saw it holds shape, I styled it few months ago. And yesterday I gently slip potted it into it´s first training pot. Long way ahead of it, and as this stays in my collection, I am looking forward to it. I know - bar branch. That will be adressed at the later stage when I have some other to fill in the space.

Sunset in our Orchard

Only a few trees are left in our - used to be - orchard at some distance from each other after tractors crashed most of them. But I found the place still interesting as most of them are half dead and with sunset like yesterday it makes nice picture reminding me of African savannas :)

Inspirations

After quite some time I took my family out again finally so we can enjoy a bit of nature and "real" trees :) Here are few of my shots for inspiration from Zadiel Valley and a closeby forest with interesting hills inside.

Milky way and Itoigawa on rock

 When I was thinking about some unusual display for the new pic of this Itoigawa juniper on rock I created last year, I thought why not to connect it with my new hobby that is astrophotography. (Because guitar and bonsai is not enough time consuming I guess, so I got to do something at nights too, right? (I´ll sleep when I´m dead)).

So I decided I am going to take it with me for my milky way photoshoot and improvise a quick display under the stars.
And here is the pic of Itoigawa by the Milky way and Jupiter and Saturn to the left of it.
It is quite a task to make it look natural as you have to focus and iluminate the tree first and then focus on the stars and make some 14 pics of it ... stack them in Sequator and then put it all together in photoshop.
But I am still learning and hopefully I will get better at it 

LITERATI PINE - TWINTRUNK

Another wiring on this pine done.
This is by far my most favourite tree from my collection.
Last pic is approximate plan of how I want it to look like when it gets more compact and needles will be smaller.

JUNIPER NUMBER 1

Some more works done on this juniper I acquired in 2016.
Considerable amount on top of the substrate was removed, exposing more of the lower trunk.
Crown was made much smaller - something I wanted to do long ago but never did.
And some more attempts at carving - to be honest, I am pretty happy how it turned out on top - but not that mad about the lower part. I will try and repair it later sometime.
And it will need a shallower pot!

Wisteria Airlayer number 4

3 years after airlayering.
It spent 2 and a half year in the ground and was moved into it´s first bonsai pot this spring.
And some more flowers - models - Rea and Bea.

Triple trunk yamadori literati pine

Entering it´s fifth year as a bonsai in training.
Still a way to go.