Big Basin Redwoods Forest 1900 - 1922

This photo, Big Basin Redwoods Forest, was taken by Andrew P. Hill. It's an image made with light, of course, but also with such deep contrasts and subtle gradations. It makes me think about how photography and painting aren't so different, it's all about seeing and then marking. The whole image is about texture and layering, the bark of the trees, the density of the undergrowth. There’s a person there, look closely. They’re leaning against one of the trees, and that juxtaposition makes you really grasp the scale of the forest, the sheer size of these trees. It's easy to miss the person entirely because they almost dissolve into the trees, a reminder perhaps of our smallness in the face of nature, the way we're just another mark in the landscape. I’m reminded of some of the early landscape photography of Carleton Watkins. Like Watkins, Hill captured these monumental trees with a real sense of awe, but also, I think, a sense of responsibility. They both made images that really stick with you, images that encourage you to see the world with a new kind of awareness.