Thanks to Gump for initiating and judging the previous challenge, and for choosing my shot so that I get to set and judge the next one.
Trees help define the character of a place, they reflect the seasons, and they record the passage of time during their life cycles. The scope is wide here - woodlands, individual trees, shrubs and woody vines, driftwood and their landscape contexts are all just fine.
I'll leave the format of the challenge, discussed in the previous thread, as it is for now and allow for a bit more discussion of that - you may wish to add your own suggestions with your entries.

Here are the (usual!) rules, plus I have added Ricoh cameras just to make that clear (My GR-III is a great tree camera!).

Rules
1. Post ONE photo (max 1024x1024).
2. The photo must portray an interpretation of the theme.
3. Post your single picture in this thread and explain what motivated you to take the picture and/or how you feel it represents the weekly theme (especially if it's not obvious).
4. The challenge is interactive. Any response is welcome.
5. The judge will pick the WINNERS and choose one of them to be the judge for the next week.
6. This challenge runs for 7 days plus an additional day for the judge to choose the winners.
7. Any Pentax, Ricoh or Samsung DSLR camera can be used.
8. Pictures can be from any time frame, not just within the week of the current theme.
9. In case the winner of a challenge is unable to become the judge for the next challenge, they will PM the #2 winner for that person to be the judge.

Read more at: About the weekly challenges - PentaxForums.com

Contest runs through to early evening (EST) of August 5.

Here are a few examples from my collection:












I look forward to your own interpretations.

[Hattifnatt]

I can see why it would be a favourite. When I first mis-read the location though, I was surprised. There's a small town called Castlegar near where I live in Canada, and your photo doesn't look like the right kind of trees or terrain to be from around there.
Kristian

Thanks! Castlebar is located in Ireland

[pacerr]

NCAR

[CedrusMacro]

Probably my favorite tree shot - somewhere near Castlebar at sunset.

Beautiful colours Hattifnatt- great tree scene.

[bogwalker]

I took this picture this morning at my favorite location in northern Illinois. Then I read about this weekly challenge just now, good timing

[Hattifnatt]

Beautiful colours Hattifnatt- great tree scene.

Thank you!

[cooks333]

So many possibilities with this theme. There are several memorable trees that come to mind from past journeys (pines in Bryce Canyon, the Angel Oak outside Charleston, redwoods in Muir Woods to name a few), however the most memorable have to be the trees I saw in Krka National Park in Croatia. Due to some weird geology and hydrology involving karst and travertine, waterfalls are rising out of the river basin in the middle of a forest. As a result, flora and turquoise falls are completely interspersed, with some trees even being totally surrounded by the rushing water. A truly unforgettable sight and a testament to the strength of trees!

K3 + DA 70mm Limited

[CedrusMacro]

So many possibilities with this theme. There are several memorable trees that come to mind from past journeys (pines in Bryce Canyon, the Angel Oak outside Charleston, redwoods in Muir Woods to name a few), however the most memorable have to be the trees I saw in Krka National Park in Croatia. Due to some weird geology and hydrology involving karst and travertine, waterfalls are rising out of the river basin in the middle of a forest. As a result, flora and turquoise falls are completely interspersed, with some trees even being totally surrounded by the rushing water. A truly unforgettable sight and a testament to the strength of trees!

K3 + DA 70mm Limited

Thanks for jogging the memory cooks, it's been over a decade since I went on holiday there, did you enjoy a swim to the base of the waterfall by any chance? The park was excellent to wander around and made the coach ride from the dalmatian coast (almost) bearable.

[cooks333]

Thanks for jogging the memory cooks, it's been over a decade since I went on holiday there, did you enjoy a swim to the base of the waterfall by any chance? The park was excellent to wander around and made the coach ride from the dalmatian coast (almost) bearable.

We did! Needed to get there pretty much right as it opened to beat the crowds. I remember it being very refreshing. My favorite part was just wandering around the boardwalks that wind around/over the river. Never seen an ecosystem like that anywhere else.

[CedrusMacro]

So many good shots of some of natures finest. I've always found trees so difficult to do justice when photographing them- you people are nailing it!

I'm going to go with this shot of a preserved mature English oak, this one survived thanks to a preservation order, the development of a new university building, and wears the scars of age well.

[SunValley]

Pentax K-70 with DA*16-50/2.8

[vijaykishan]

I wana be a tree - fast



K20D + Sigma 8-16mm

[noelcmn]

[jacamar]

Great response so far - just a few hours left before the cutoff!

[vijaykishan]

One more entry please

[StephenHampshire]