Christopher Harrison Photography
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Primeval Morning

Fanal Forest · Spring

Crepuscular rays (sun beams) pierce the canopy of an ancient laurel forest, illuminating moisture-laden air above a moss-carpeted slope. The gnarled, spreading forms of old-growth Til trees frame the sun as it breaks through low cloud at dawn. The scene captures the primeval character of Macaronesian laurisilva, a habitat unchanged in form since the Tertiary period.

Watching this scene unfold was utterly magical. Whilst it largely was clear at this time, clouds were rolling over the top of the Fanal plateau, with some cloud just blowing down into the trees below. When this happened, it combined with the sunlight, creating the most incredible sun beams beneath the canopy. This is a moment I am so happy to have captured, and is one I will remember for a very long time. I'd love for you to feel what this moment felt like with a fine art print - allowing you to appreciate this at home.

Camera
Sony α7R IV · Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG DN Art
Settings
1/30s · f/20 · ISO 100 · 37mm
Captured
27 May 2026
Shape
landscape
Appears in
Fanal Forest, Madeira

About the prints

For me, printing is the end of the photographic journey. You've done all the hard work, edited the files and reviewed them. Seeing the photograph come out of the printer is the reward. The depth of colour from a printed photograph beats seeing it on a screen a hundred times over. Bring the story and this experience home with you with a fine art print from my portfolio.

Bluebells at Sunrise Printed on A4
Bluebells at Sunrise printed on A4 Fotospeed paper, editioned, titled & signed.

Each fine art print from my website is printed by me at home on my Canon Pro-1000 professional printer. To ensure the best prints possible, I use Fotospeed paper. This is archival grade paper, ensuring accurate colour representation. I then sign, edition and package the prints and get them posted to you. With this in mind, please allow up to 10 days for dispatch. If there will be any further delay to this, I will let you know via email - such as if I am on a trip away and it will be longer for dispatch.

If you do have specific requirements please let me know via the contact me form, and I will endeavour to solve any queries or requests. For example, if you need the print quickly for a special occasion, just let me know, and I will try my best to make it happen!

Bluebells at sunrise printed a4 with the edition number in the bottom left corner
Showing the detail of a print - you can see all of the details of Bluebells at Sunrise up close.

Not everything I’ve photographed is in the shop. If you’ve seen something on Instagram, in a gallery here, or at an exhibition that isn’t listed, just ask.

Why there's a border

The print will come with a white border around the photo to allow space for editioning and signing. This will also make it easier when you come to frame & mount your photograph, giving some flexibility. I sign the prints in an archival permanent marker, so it'll never fade.

Signing and editions

Every print is signed by hand in the lower border. Where a photograph is issued as a limited edition, each print is numbered, and once the last number has sold I never print that photograph at that size again. I print, sign and pack every order myself.

Read more about how they're made →

More from this collection

A veteran Til tree — Ocotea foetens — spreads its contorted limbs through dense fog at Fanal, Madeira's ancient laurisilva forest. Warm backlight from low dawn sun filters through the cloud, silhouetting the twisted branch structure against a luminous ground mist. The gnarled root buttresses and mossy plateau floor reinforce the age and isolation of this extraordinary tree.
The Til Tree in Fog From £55
Crepuscular rays penetrate fog between the sprawling limbs of old-growth laurisilva trees, most likely within the laurel forest of Garajonay or Fanal, Madeira. A solitary figure stands at the forest floor, lending scale to the cathedral-like spread of the dominant trunk. The mist acts as a scattering medium, rendering each beam distinct against the dark understory.
Light Finds the Limbs The Chilterns From £55
A monumental laurisilva tree spreads its wind-tortured limbs into dawn mist, its gnarled silhouette suspended between warm backlight and cold blue fog. The fallen branch arcing to the ground echoes the age and weight of the tree, while receding forms dissolve into the vapour behind. The scene carries the atmosphere of Fanal, Madeira's ancient laurel forest.
Wind-Tortured Fanal Forest From £55
A massive laurisilva tree dominates the foreground in Madeira's Fanal forest, its gnarled trunk silhouetted against a striking division of cold blue mist to the left and warm amber fog-light to the right. The tonal opposition — cool shadow world against glowing dawn — gives the composition an almost theatrical tension without artifice. Supporting trees recede into layered fog, reinforcing both depth and the forest's primordial scale.
The Fog Divides Fanal Forest From £55
Veteran laurisilva trees emerge from dense fog at first light in Fanal, Madeira. The diffused warm glow backlit through the canopy dissolves distance and silhouettes the gnarled, moss-covered trunks against a luminous ground mist. The composition uses the natural frame of arching branches to draw the eye through successive planes of receding trees.
Distance Dissolves From £55
Crepuscular rays break through mist-laden laurel forest in the ancient laurisilva of Fanal, Madeira, illuminating the gnarled, moss-covered limbs of a centuries-old Til tree. The low sun pierces the canopy at a shallow angle, rendering the suspended moisture as visible columns of light between silhouetted trunks. The composition holds the dominant tree in near-silhouette, allowing the luminous background to carry the image's emotional weight.
Centuries in the Mist From £55