Dimensions: height 192 mm, width 240 mm
Copyright: Rijks Museum: Open Domain
Andrew P. Hill captured this image of the Big Basin Redwoods, in what looks like a single shot. It must have felt like a huge responsibility to try and capture something so majestic. I can imagine the artist setting up his equipment amidst all that foliage, trying to keep everything stable on uneven ground! The light flickers on the trunks, and there are so many details. It’s a pretty high contrast image, with deep shadows, making the textures seem almost tactile. You get the feeling of the rough bark, and imagine the dampness and depth of the forest. I’m particularly drawn to the small figure standing by the central tree, a reminder of the scale of the surrounding nature. It seems like a reminder of our place within the bigger picture. It's interesting to see photography from this era, you get such a sense of how we saw nature then, and how our ways of seeing have shifted since. It certainly inspires me to reflect on my own place, and the conversation between ourselves and nature.
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A painter and a photographer, Hill was also an activist. Together with others, including a journalist, from 1899 he led a successful effort to preserve the dense forest in Southern California. It was home to the tallest and oldest trees in the world. Project developers and railway magnates wanted to exploit the area of the Redwoods Forest, which became a national park thanks to Hill’s efforts. Hill photographed the forest and opened a store there to sell his pictures.
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