Urban Tree Portraits

An ongoing series of photographs and 3D scans of Los Angeles' Indian laurel fig trees, exploring the interaction between trees and people in the urban environment. These are part of an ongoing photographic series of trees in urban environments, which relates to my ongoing search for a deeper understanding of what natural forms tell you about the particular conditions of the moment. The main body of work has been photographed on successive visits to Los Angeles of this Southeast Asian species planted along neighborhood streets there and in other cities on California's Central Coast. With their smooth bark and humanoid forms, they have an animated, expressive presence. They're sturdy survivors, bearing the traces of time's passage and the indignities visited upon them, still standing. I highlight their distinctive profiles and gestures by replacing the backgrounds of my photographs in post-processing with a flat color gradient, as if the tree had posed for a studio portrait. I also capture them in three dimensions using photogrammetry, which can then be produced as a sculpture using 3D printing or a CNC router. I have also photographed the Moreton Bay Fig, a 140-year-old landmark in Santa Barbara, California.