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Rediscovering the Architecture of Trees
November 2002
When the trees are in full foliage it is sometimes hard to visualize what they look like when the leaves are gone and the branches are bare once again. But now we see those twisting lines against the sky once again, and we are treated to architecture of nature that was hidden for so many months.
Our cover photograph is a sensitive introduction to the season with its image of late afternoon. The setting sun is creating a glow on the horizon and showing a glimmer in the clouds above, while the black branches of the tall trees reach upward towards the cloudy sky. We can almost feel the chill in the air.
Our portfolio opens with complex patterns of branches in two photographs that could have been an inspiration to the abstract expressionist painter Jackson Pollack. The artist would have dripped his colors on a flat canvas to create his compositions, while nature has produced its works of art by letting the organic forms find their own way. On the left is an image of delicate branches sprinkled with red berries. On the right, a monumental tree casts its heavy black lines against the darkening sky.
The next spread begins with a flowing landscape in which the trees on the hill seem almost white against the sky, and the pale green field in the foreground provides a frame for the farmhouses seen through the branches. Opposite is one of three photographs in this issue that focus on trees reflected on water. This one shows the still waters of a pond with a scattering of leaves floating on the surface.
Then we come to a forest in what seems to be a bright sunlit day with a bramble of trees and patches of autumn foliage seen here and there. And on the right is our second photograph of still waters, and we can imagine that the sun must be shining here as well for we see a blue sky and a scattering of clouds reflected on the surface of the pond. We end the portfolio with our third photograph of watery reflection, this time in a scene in which the sun appears to be setting behind a cluster of trees.
All the photographers in the portfolio have shown imagination and skill in focusing on different elements that help portray the season with striking images.
—David Finn
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