Ryceman3 post_id=287018 time=1615768764 user_id=7464]
Firstly, I am assuming we are looking at this from a more “natural” styling viewpoint, if not the below just becomes diatribe.
The dead wood/jins etc all appear up the left side of the trunk yet the branching is positioned uniformly (perhaps if anything more on the left) which is counter intuitive to what would be expected in nature, even the apex is slightly offset to the left. I’d prefer to see the placement of the branching more weighted to the right to align with the story being told in the trunk.
I think you may have missed my point but I probably wasn't clear. My question was relating to the natural appearance of the branches, that is, their form which show some of the ''disorder'' and variability we see in natural trees. Not so much from a technical viewpoint with the portion in relation to the trunk or superficial balance, those kinds of things which are not to be taken too seriously when talking about natural. It may seem strange but you almost have to look through the tree without looking directly at it so you get kind of impression but without the details. I know it sounds a bit obscure.
All in all, when ''I'' look at this tree, it gives me the feeling of a huge old
real tree and for me that's what bonsai is all about.
As far as the shari is concerned, yes I would possibly prefer to see more of the living part but that's not really what this was about. Remember too that it's not just the prevailing weather which causes dead wood but often on old upright junipers it is caused by insects and bacteria/fungi which destroy the the living tissue so the positioning of branch weight in that case is not as influenced by the prevailing climate. But that's not really important here.
but I wouldn’t call it natural.
That's ok. I would like to see an example of what you would.
