How Trees See The World

As Winter was winding down and Spring was perking up, I developed a series titled How Trees See The World. My inspiration came after seeing a presentation on solargraphy prints made from weeks-long (even years-long!) exposures that slowly absorbed light. I’m not an alternative process photographer, so the practice of tying pin-hole cameras to trees is not something I had done. But the thought of these cameras tied to trees led me to wondering what trees might see as they stand in place for many years, observing who and what comes and goes. The idea that trees may be sentient (in some way) comes from my reading recently published books such as Finding The Mother Tree, The Overstory, and The Hidden Life of Trees.

How Trees See The World combines pairs of photographs printed on fine art paper, cut into strips and woven together. Subjects include what trees see all day long - other trees, buildings, people going by. I combined images which were taken at the same location and made with a mix of techniques. In addition to the customary well-focused photograph, with sharpness throughout, I use Intentional Camera Movement (ICM), shallow depth-of-field, and long exposures (on tripod) on windy days to obtain various out-of-focus looks.

I selected pairs of photographs taken of the same scene with different techniques, or taken in the same location but of varied subjects. I made small 8x10” prints of some of these paired images and began cutting them into strips. Initially I used a hand-held razor blade but soon purchased a rotary paper trimmer that allowed me a much easier time making straight cuts with far less effort. These small versions allowed me to see the viability of, and remarkably interesting interactions, between photos when woven together.

I also developed an appreciation for the physical hand-made process of weaving together strips of “tree stuff” (paper), pulling one strip at a time over-under-over-under in various patterns. This became a very satisfying experience, different compared to my usual post-processing work on a computer using Lightroom and Photoshop.

The result of my efforts produced twenty works. They are in a variety of weaving styles, including some with a consistent over-under-over-under pattern and others with no repeating cadence, allowing me to bring focus to selected elements from each of the two prints woven together. There is also variety in color and abstraction, with a couple of the weavings using the same image printed with two different post-processing approaches, resulting in what at first glance looks almost like a single image.

One hope I have is that viewers will be inspired to use their imagination of how they see trees seeing the world.

Contact me if you would like to purchase a print from the How Trees See The World portfolio.