San Francisco-based photographer Beth Moon spent the past 14 years traveling the world in search of the most ancient trees. Her new book Ancient Trees: Portraits of Time is the culmination of her years of documentation.
The trees are printed in platinum, a process that highlights the textures and tonal value of her majestic subjects. Many of the trees are so remote and immense that viewing them seems to take you back in time.
Moon said she had three criteria for choosing the subjects of her book:
"Age, immense size, or notable history. I research the locations by a number of methods; history books, botanical books, tree registers, newspaper articles and information from friends and travelers," she said.
The trees featured in her book have stood for centuries in regions across the globe -- from the United States to Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Moon said many of the trees have survived because of the fact that they were in remote locations and undisturbed by man's progress.
Sadly, many of the trees featured in the series are in danger of becoming extinct. The Baobab trees of Madagascar, for example, are among the island's most endangered.
The mythical Dragon's Blood trees of Socotra Island, whose sap was once sought after by Roman gladiators to heal wounds, have been in decline due to the young saplings being unable to get enough cloud cover for water in recent years.
Of her choice to print the 60 photos in black and white instead of color, Moon said she used a labor-intensive platinum process, which she believes is a "noble process in the digital age."
The platinum process, unlike regular printing, embeds itself into the paper to give the print a 3D-like appearance. Also, platinum is a stable metal, allowing her rich black and white, and sepia-toned photos to last for thousands of years -- just like the subjects of her photography.
