(click on thumbnails for full-size images)
Trees have always fascinated man. Their stubborn resistance to the passing of time and days of bad weather; their shapes so unique, with branches perpetually open-wide to the sky above as in an endless prayer of praise to the presence they seem to be in constant communication; their blooming in spring and bareness in winter, all of these ‘vegetal ways of being’ have inspired countless poems, essays and paintings.
Could photographers resist their charm? Of course not.
As a photographer, I’ve had many occasions on which to photograph trees, usually in the mild weather of spring, summer and autumn, because that’s the time I more often have the chance to go out and shoot. In winter, I must admit, I find myself comfortably working at my photos in the warmth of my house and I get a bit lazy, thus missing many interesting shots. Oh well, mea culpa…
Another reason for me not taking photos of wintry subjects is that I’ve been living in Southern Italy for a few years now, and Sicily is not quite the right place where to look for snowy landscapes…
Last winter, I was coming back by train from a visit to my mother. We were running through the countryside near the city of Parma, in Central Italy. Everything looked so cold and desolate but also incredibly lyrical. I felt I had to get hold of that fleeting vision before it was lost forever so I pulled out my camera and started shooting to capture the zen-like quality of those barren trees like mysterious pastel sketches lost in the white and the fogginess of the day.
Near Parma (the birthplace of world famous Parmigiano Reggiano or Parmesan cheese) the plains show extensive cultures of corn and rice. Isolated farms and rows of poplar trees alternate to vineyards and other fruit trees. At this time of the year snow is not a rare event and fields stretch endlessly, covered with a white, frosted carpet, occasionally exposing darker furrows like lines jotted down in black ink.
As I kept shooting, I was becoming more and more involved in the minimalist beauty of what was passing before my eyes. I envisioned an even purer representation of winter 
solitude in the form of a series of photos in which the main subjects would be trees and other landscape elements rendered as black lines on a white canvas.
Once at home, I discovered I had to deal with some inevitable micro movements of the camera and unwanted reflections in the window. This encouraged me to drastically get rid of any superfluous details. Through the use of a technique known as Orton Imagery I tried to make the trees stand out on a glowing white background. Some dodging and burning then made the rest.So I managed to take my winter pictures even if not being out for an assignment or for a photo-shooting walk.
I believe in catching the moment and I think I caught mine when I did not limit myself to watching at the landscape. Those barren trees and black furrows and white fields were calling for me to grab my camera.
Fortunately, I listened to their call.
The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a
green thing that stands in the way. Some see Nature all ridicule and deformity, and some scarce see Nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, Nature is Imagination itself.
- William Blake, 1799, The Letters
You can see the complete Winter Bareness series on my website: http://www.photosil.com
About the Author Website: http://www.photosil.com
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