Atop the Valensole Plain in Provence, France, finding a lone tree among the plentiful rows of lavender is like finding the surprise in a box of Cracker Jacks. As we can see in the first example, taken with a wide-angle lens, the rows of lavender converge toward the tree, creating a sense of depth and distance, but the eye-level point of view still makes this a rather pedestrian image.

I then spotted some red poppies and a few yellow daisies amid the lavender and got an idea: What if I picked a few of each and held them close to my 70–300mm lens while focusing on the distant tree? With my aperture at f/5.6, I held the flowers about 18 inches from my lens, creating an out-of-focus red-and-yellow frame around the tree. With this frame in the foreground, a surprising landscape unfolds. The frame of color not only makes the tree seem more important but also implies a kind of secret, as if we are peeking in at the life of the tree.

Top image: Nikon D2X with Nikkor 24–85mm lens at 60mm, f/22 for 1/60 sec., ISO 100; Bottom image: Nikon D2X with Nikkor 70–300mm lens at 70mm, f/5.6 for 1/1000 sec., ISO 100