Beth Moon is a Wisconsin-born American photographer who, despite already being known in photo circles for her work, became popular internationally when she published in 2014, “Ancient Trees – Portrait of time“, a book to which he devoted 14 years photographing the longest-lived trees in the world and developing a close bond that he still maintains with the oldest, largest and most significant trees on the planet.
“I would like to have a clear picture, so if a tree is destroyed by storms, disease, greed or carelessness, I will have a record of its power and beauty for those who have not been able to make the journey. I photograph these trees because I know words alone are not enough and I want their stories to live on. I photograph these trees because they may not be here tomorrow.“
Moon, who had been photographing since the 1990s, became enthusiastic about trees as a subject when he realized that some of the oldest specimens had existed for more than 4,000 years..
On some mountain in the Inyo National Forest in eastern California lives Matusalem, a 4,848-year-old pine tree. It is not allowed to post photos of him or reveal his exact location, to protect him from acts of vandalism. The Fortingall yew, in Scotland, is 5,000 years old; 4,000 the cypress of Abarkuh, in Iran; 3,600 a millennial larch in Chile. The figures on trees are so outrageous. There is no other living being older or another taller.
Portraits of Time
“The Great Western Red Cedar – Thuja plicata – Gelli i Aur Arboretum, located 3km to the south of Afon Tywi, southwest of Llandeilo Carmarthenshire, Gal·les, Regne Unit
«I often feel admiration, and a great love for many aspects of nature, so maybe that emotion is what I try to capture and translate. I don’t just want to document, but instead record the beauty and enthusiasm I feel towards the subject I’m photographing. »
In addition to the “Portraits of Time” series he has made other portfolios dedicated to trees such as the “Titans” series dedicated to olive trees, or the “Diamonds nights” series inspired by two scientific studies that connect the growth of trees with movement celestial and astral cycles.
According to the author, researchers from the Edimbourgh University they have shown that trees grow faster when cosmic radiation reaches the Earth’s surface. According to them, cosmic radiation influences the growth of trees, even more than the annual temperature or rainfall.. On the other hand, the researcher Lawrence Edwards, that tree buds rhythmically change shape and size in regular cycles throughout the winter, a fact that is directly correlated with lunar cycles and planets.
Merging Science and Art is the intention of this photographer. Photographs of these ancient trees have been taken with long-exposure techniques in a moonless setting and with the stars of the Milky Way as a background with a wide-angle lens and ISO 3200-6400.
Moon is a self-taught photographer interested in alternative printing processes. For most of his work today he uses Mike Ware’s platinum-palladium printing method which he learned while living in England.
Apart from the trees, the rest of his work is also a real delight.
to learn more about Beth Moon and her work you can visit her website https://bethmoon.com/ and the following articles:
https://elhurgador.blogspot.com/2017/03/beth-moon-fotografia-arboles.html