Beth Moon, age 56, American resident, residing in Novato, California
PORTRAITS OF TIME
Many of the trees I have photographed have survived because they are out of reach of civilization; on mountainsides, private estates, or on protected land. Certain species exist only in a few isolated areas of the world.
The process I use for exhibition prints is platinum/palladium printing. By using the longest lasting photographic process, I hope to speak about survival, not only of man and nature’s but to photography’s survival as well. A platinum print can last for centuries, drawing on the common theme of time and survival, pairing photographic subject and process. There are many steps involved in creating the final print and these are as important to me as the capturing of the image.
Standing as the earth’s largest and oldest living monuments, I believe these symbolic trees will take on a greater significance, especially at a time when our focus is directed at finding better ways to live with the environment, celebrating the wonders of nature that have survived throughout the centuries. By feeling a larger sense of time, developing a relationship with the natural world, we carry that awareness with us as it becomes a part of who we are. I cannot imagine a better way to commemorate the lives of the world’s most dramatic trees, many which are in danger of destruction, than by exhibiting their portraits.
Beth Moon
