Bare Trees
Undoubtedly, trees were one of the first things I photographed when I picked up a camera for the first time. I’ve ever since been attracted to them for their size, age, presence, strength, intersecting lines and sheer presence.
While being enthusiastic about trees as a subject at one time, I eventually developed a “been there, done that” attitude towards them as a subject. Over time, as a subject, trees were something that I enjoyed looking at more than photographing. I even felt that trees were a cliché subject matter and often found it interesting when a student would choose trees as a subject and photograph them with a passion as though he or she was seeing or experiencing a tree for the first time. In fact I was often a little envious of their “beginner’s mind”. Eventually, something in me changed, something literally “clicked”. I started seeing and photographing the trees with a beginner’s mind of my own. I began to see the trees anew. These were the same trees I passed weekly, if not daily, on walks with my dog for the past several years. All of these images were made during January – March 2016.
Jack Mader © 2023