VN #029: The Arbutus Tree
Posted June 2, 2024
The Arbutus Tree
Photographing the ‘interior’ from the ‘interior’
Arbutus trees don’t grow up on the central Plateau of British Columbia where I live, so when I was walking to the beach on Gabriola Island to photograph sandstone patterns, the extraordinary bark of an Arbutus tree instantly caught my eye. Its deep red-orange colour seemed intertwined with greens and yellows; it’s as if the bark peeled itself open to reveal its colours to me.
Warm evening light reveals the extraordinary beauty of an Arbutus tree.
On days gone by, I might have made the above representational image and then moved on to where I had planned to photograph. Not so today, as a newly developed toolkit has opened a door to artistic expression. What might have been the only image I made of the arbutus tree is now only the beginning of the much deeper visual exploration.
As the bark peels open, I enter the trees ‘interior’.
Because art comes from one’s ‘interior’, I realized as I purposefully explored the tree’s outer cover, I was entering not only my own ‘interior’, but also that of the tree’s.
Arbutus interior I
Arbutus interior II
Arbutus spirit land I
Arbutus spirit land II
Within two hours of stimulating exploration and discovery, I had, through photography, made a deep connection with an arbutus tree. Ever since this experience, whenever I see an arbutus tree, I have a deeper understanding of both myself and the arbutus.
All of us at Chris Harris Photography thank you for your subscriber support!
Check out my Portfolio’s
Visit Exhibitions
Subscribe to my Newsletters
Subscribe to Visual Narratives