In what is now central Utah, a single aspen seed rooted, sprouted, and started to clone itself somewhere around the end of the last ice age, about 20,000 years ago. The world's largest known organism, called Pando (from the Latin "I spread"), is still growing today and consists of almost 40,000 individual trees. The same root system gave rise to each trunk, and experts calculate that Pando weighs roughly 6 million kilograms. With a fascination for tree relics, Mitch Epstein went on an adventure to photograph the ones that caught his eye the most.
Mitch Epstein's Magnetism for Ancient Trees and Nature's Relics
Photographer Mitch Epstein bases his ongoing series 'Old Growth' on the extraordinary tenacity, size, and long lifespans of trees. He photographs incredible mainstays across the United States, from the world's greatest massive sequoias to the oldest, worn-out, gnarly bristlecone pines (which can live up to 4,000 years).
Patriarch Grove, Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, California, 2021
Bigleaf Maple, Olympic National Park, Washington, 2021
Beginning in 2017, Epstein traversed the nation in pursuit of the oldest known trees, such as bald cypresses, bigleaf maples, eastern white pines, and cedars. Relict species, such as bristlecones and sequoias, are those that have survived from a time when they were far more common. As the trees' ever-dwindling habitats become more and more threatened by the climate issue, Epstein compiles an essential record of the trees.
A Journey Through Nature to Find the World's Most Interesting, Old, and Photogenic Trees
According to expert Mitch, carbon is captured by both young and old trees, contributing to the removal of greenhouse gasses from the environment. Simply put, the elder trees store a lot more of it. The amount of human destruction of old-growth, original, or frontier forests in the United States varies depending on definitions, although it is believed that up to 96% of these areas have been destroyed for development, logging, and agriculture.
Epstein emphasizes the inherent tension of time through photography. For trees that have stood for millennia, a moment in time caught on camera highlights the staggeringly long existence of the tree. A solo exhibition of Epstein’s large-format images opens soon at Yancey Richardson, and a new book published by Steidl is slated for release in November. Old Growth will run from September 5 to October 19 in New York City, and from there, it travels to the Gallerie d’Italia in Turin and opens on October 16.
Congress Trail, Sequoia National Park, California, 2021
Coastal Redwood (Boy Scout Tree), Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, California, 2022
More About Nature Photographer Mitch Epstein
Mitch Epstein has photographed the landscape and culture of America for half a century. A graduate of Cooper Union, he became a pioneer of 1970s fine-art color photography. He has been inducted into the National Academy of Design (2020) and was awarded the Prix Pictet (2011), Berlin Prize (2008), and a Guggenheim Fellowship (2002). His work has been shown and collected by museums worldwide, including New York’s Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Whitney Museum of American Art, the National Gallery in Washington DC, The Art Institute of Chicago, Tate Modern in London, Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris, the Getty Museum and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in Los Angeles, the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, TX, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
You can pre-order your copy of 'Old Growth', a series that acknowledges the majesty and resilience of primeval wilderness unaltered by humans. It explores ancient forests in remote regions of the U.S., where ninety-five percent of old-growth forests have been destroyed. Learn more on Mitch Epstein's website.
If you're a fan of trees and nature in general and are an avid reader, read the article '10 of the Best Books About Nature and Trees'. See also a compilation of the most unique trees in the world.
Header image caption: Maple Glade, Hoh Rain Forest, Olympic National Park, Washington, 2017, Feature image caption: Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, California, 2022.
All photos from the series 'Old Growth' by @mitch_epstein courtesy of Mitch Epstein and Yancey Richardson.
