One thing that I realized a while back (around 2014) was that I should work on long-term photography projects. For me, it just made more sense and I probably should have done it sooner, alas we learn as we go. One of those earlier projects - and perhaps the more complex so far - was Middle Eastern Promises (more on that project in a future post), but since that’s a project I could only do when visiting Israel, I realized that I also needed to work on local photography projects that I can stretch over time, projects - and that was key - that can be made close enough for me to either walk to, or be only a short drive away.
I have started a couple of such projects with that in mind. Most have evolved from me walking or experiencing a local scene, like the freight train that passes my hometown of Catskill often, or going on nature walks and realizing a certain scene can look beautiful in different weather and light conditions. Then it’s a matter of having the energy and time to return to the same spot again and again. That’s where it goes back to the idea of creating (very) local projects. Projects that I can still work on even if I am busy on a commercial shoot (I can check a location on the way back) or if the light in a certain day is particularly good I can take an hour or so break, do the shoot and come back to my studio without interrupting my schedule too much.
This series of a single tree in the landscape (currently titled “Frederic Church's Tree”) is such a project. This tree is located in a popular Hudson Valley destination, Olana.1
My wife and I walk there quite often, in all seasons and time of day. I was eyeing this tree for a while, with its half-broken trunk yet still alive and well. At some point I was there, with the right equipment2, and the light was just perfect… It started.
The photograph above was made in March, 2022. The one below was made yesterday, December 25th, 2022.
When I got back home yesterday I looked at the image above and saw that I’ve completed nine shoots of the tree that I liked. Since I really diptychs and showing a series of photos together I created the grid you see below.
So, same tree - different time of year and weather conditions, all from the same angle and location. A technique that I borrowed from one on my dearest mentors, photographer Simon Norfolk, creating a photo series which allows the viewer to get a sense of time passing. It certainly helps that one can see some of the Hudson River behind the tree, creating a somewhat sublime scene and acting as an homage to Mr. Church - who was a teenager when photography was invented, and was apparently fascinated by this new technology.
I will continue to photograph this tree and observe the conditions change. Perhaps I’ll print a final selection of twelve photos to be displayed continuously on a wall, or maybe as a slideshow on my website.
What do you think of such a photo series? Is that something you do too or do you prefer a less planned (or even more planned) approach? Let me know in the comments.
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Did I mention that in my previous career I was a graphic designer? My studio, FusionLab designed and built the website for Olana. It was one of the last websites we created before closing shop and converting my career to photography.
I love photography equipment… and I wonder how much to write here about equipment (or technique), to be determined later on.
Thanks for liking my latest newsletter. What a beautiful set of images here, Alon. It's making me remember the Hudson Valley fondly.
Having spent many hours as a teenager staring at Church's "Rainy Season in the Tropics" at the DeYoung, I was immediately pulled into your post. I now live a few blocks from a beautiful stretch of the American River and go almost daily to the same spot to record an image of the light there. Thank you.