Hiking across the high fells of the Lake District on a bright winter's day, I came across this isolated tree, standing defiantly alone and rising from the ruins of an old drystone wall.

The Lakeland fells are largely devoid of trees, most young seedlings being eaten by the many flocks of sheep that roam the hills, free to graze the upland pastures. This tree had clearly found sufficient protection in the remnants of the wall to thrive and sufficient shelter to survive the harsh winter storms and frosts for who knows how many years. Leaning over and shaped by the wind into a thing of natural beauty, it now stands magnificently against the distant hills.

To do full justice to the tree in the final image, I wanted to fill the frame completely and emphasise the sublime shape of the leafless canopy made up of thousands of intricate branches.

The sunlight was very bright, casting strong shadows and creating a very high contrast between the lit and shadowed side of each branch. I decided to take advantage of this and strengthen the contrast further with a harsh monochrome filter that would sharpen the image and emphasise the intricacy of the tree's structure.

The softness in the sky and the distant hills is part Bokeh and partly due to the descending mist in the distance. I love the simplicity of this image. It is a testament to the strength, resilience and defiance of nature.