Gallery: Photographs by Beth Moon

Road passing between baobab trees

When Beth Moon began photographing “monumental, iconic trees” 20 years ago, she wanted to capture the splendor of nature inaccessible landscapes—on remote islands, along mountainsides, and on private lands. But, Moon says, she didn’t realize she would also be recording many of these trees’ deaths in her lifetime: “I’ve witnessed firsthand the devastating loss of some of the world’s oldest trees, from Italy to Yemen to southern Africa,” she says. “With my work, I hope to draw attention to the impacts of climate change while celebrating the beauty that remains.” Moon develops her arboreal portraits into platinum prints (a process that involves embedding metal crystals into cotton paper), which can endure for centuries without fading—even long after their subjects have died.

 

Large, ancient hollow tree

MAJESTY Nonington, England, 2005

Tree growing over building entrance

ROOTED PASSAGE Siem Reap, Cambodia, 2007

KAPOK TREE Palm Beach, Florida, USA, 2004

BUFFLESDRIFT BAOBAB Bufflesdrift, South Africa, 2013

DESERT ROSE (WADI FA LANG) Socotra, Yemen, 2010

THE GREAT WESTERN RED CEDAR OF GELLI AUR Llandeilo, Wales, 2006

HEART OF THE DRAGON Socotra, Yemen, 2010

QUIVER TREE FOREST AT DUSK Keetmanshoop, Namibia, 2013

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