[click to enlarge]
At 1,500 years old and 300 feet tall this titan in California's Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park has the most complex crown scientists have ever mapped.
Taken by Michael Nichols, this photomosaic is composed of 84 images using three cameras, a robotic dolly, and a gyroscope. Nat Geo sent him to spend an entire year hiking 2,000 miles from Big Sur to the Chetco River in Oregon photographing redwood trees.
His mission was to capture the majesty of some of the tallest trees on Earth, some of which have been standing for two thousand years.
The result is the first-ever full length portrait of a giant California redwood.
So, can you find the five people in this picture?
Technical assistance: Ken Geiger, NG Staff; Nathan Williamson; Walter Boggs, David Mathews, and Kenji Yamaguchi, NG Staff; Jim C. Spickler; Giacomo Renzullo; Marty Reed, Steve Sillett, and Marie Antoine, Humboldt State University.
