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That Tree
An iPhone Photo Journal Documenting a year in the Life of a Lonely Bur Oak
- GenresPhotographyNonfictionArt
192 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
36 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 11, 2018
“To own a veteran Bur Oak is to own a historical library—to have a reserved seat in the theatre of evolution which is only visible to the discerning eye.”-- Aldo Leopold
Photojournalist Mark Hirsch lives outside rural Platteville, Wisconsin. He passed by a tree every day for 19 years and never took a picture of it. It stands tall and wide and alone at the edge of a field. Then he bought an I-Phone, which he was very skeptical could take decent photographs. . .. He liked the one he first took, then took at least one picture of That Tree--a Bur Oak- for the next year. There's something almost epic about the process, and you get to think of trees--and the environment--rather differently.
Photojournalist Mark Hirsch lives outside rural Platteville, Wisconsin. He passed by a tree every day for 19 years and never took a picture of it. It stands tall and wide and alone at the edge of a field. Then he bought an I-Phone, which he was very skeptical could take decent photographs. . .. He liked the one he first took, then took at least one picture of That Tree--a Bur Oak- for the next year. There's something almost epic about the process, and you get to think of trees--and the environment--rather differently.
January 15, 2015
Outstanding photographic eye. Gives the lie to the view that photography is all about the equipment. Not so; it's about the vision.
October 11, 2018
This beautiful book of 365 daily photographs of a bur oak in SW Wisconsin, after you've read it, you are changed -- it's like a meditation, and for an urban dweller like myself, it focuses your attention on the details of nature that are often overlooked in the frenzy of everyday life. "That Tree" is the opposite of urban frenzy, it's meditative (as noted above) and in that sense, unique. The photos themselves are excellent - each day is different, and you can only admire over the course of the 365 photos nature's ever-changing display of color as the seasons change, and the life-cycle centered on the tree unfolds. The Foreward and essays included are OK, but the real power of the book is in the photos along with the diary-like captions author/photographer Mark Hirsch supplies.
Here are some quotes:
From the Foreword by Vincent Laforet:
"...an Oak tree...can live to be more than fourteen hundred years old."
"As children, we often take the tree in our backyard for granted, but as we grow up and return to our home, that tree can mysteriously stir up strong emotions, and memories, as we notice all of the changes that have come to surround it."
And some quotes by Mark Hirsch:
"If you've always wanted to try painting, go for it. If you like to draw, just draw. ... If you like what you create, that is all that matters."
"That Tree inspired me to have a greater appreciation for the simple things."
"I had no idea what a professionally transformative and personally therapeutic experience my daily commitment to That Tree would be. It just happened."
Here are some quotes:
From the Foreword by Vincent Laforet:
"...an Oak tree...can live to be more than fourteen hundred years old."
"As children, we often take the tree in our backyard for granted, but as we grow up and return to our home, that tree can mysteriously stir up strong emotions, and memories, as we notice all of the changes that have come to surround it."
And some quotes by Mark Hirsch:
"If you've always wanted to try painting, go for it. If you like to draw, just draw. ... If you like what you create, that is all that matters."
"That Tree inspired me to have a greater appreciation for the simple things."
"I had no idea what a professionally transformative and personally therapeutic experience my daily commitment to That Tree would be. It just happened."
December 7, 2020
This is a phenomenal journey of one photographer's experience photographing one tree for 365 days. There is a back story here as to how this came about but what he wound up being able to capture with an Iphone is incredible. It just goes to show you that it's not the medium but the eye of the photographer. Highly recommended!
November 24, 2018
A beautiful photo journal of a single bur oak tree in the midst of Wisconsin cornfields. The year of That Tree is bursting with quiet life, and this was a beautiful collection of photographs.
May 4, 2020
Mark Hirsch takes some of the most beautiful pictures I've ever seen and with his i-phone!
September 11, 2020
Beautiful photos of one oak tree over one year. What a life!
March 21, 2022
Gorgeous photos
September 21, 2023
Beautiful photographs from every possible angle, light, season.
March 9, 2014
READS book club
August 20, 2014
Loved this book! Awesome pictures with excellent insights. The story behind the book is great.
September 4, 2014
Actually a fabulous picture book - the author took pictures of the same tree for a year - it's a beautiful photographic story of the seasons, weather, and one lovely tree.
December 27, 2014
Photojournalist Mark Hirsch tells the story of the life of a lonely bur oak by capturing its image every day for a year. Incredibly beautiful.
September 20, 2015
A beautiful book.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews