Rachel Sussman travels the world photographing the oldest trees in existence. Beth Moon captures Africa’s trees under a diamond-encrusted night sky. Michael Kenna finds sanctuary in the remote corners of the globe. Join us as we embark on a journey across the world’s most beautiful and ancient landscapes, through six tree photography projects.

Exploring the Magnificence of Nature Through Michael Kenna’s Tree Photography

“Over the past 35 years, Michael Kenna has dedicated himself to photographing trees all around the globe. Using a Hasselblad to create exquisite black and white silver gelatin prints, Kenna’s portraits of trees are like Zen koans: tranquil and enchanting, minimal and moody, and powerfully evocative of life’s deepest mysteries.”

Ancient African Trees Illuminated by Starlight

The San Francisco-based photographer Beth Moon has spent more than a decade of her life hunting down our planet’s oldest trees, chasing them to their isolated and solitary bowers at the edges of civilization. After devoting fourteen years to shooting ancient trees by day, the photographer embarked on Diamond Nights, for which she captured the looming plants under the black shroud of midnight and illuminated by a dusting of twinkling stars.

The Magnificent Live Oaks of Ossabaw, Georgia: Tree Photography by Diane Kirkland

“The Atlanta-based photographer Diane Kirkland has been documenting Ossabaw, an island off the coast of Georgia, since the 1980s. As the state’s first heritage preserve, with no bridge or ferry access, the remote island is used only for educational and environmental purposes. Her series Live Oaks of Ossabaw is a way to preserve and interpret the natural beauty here.

Rachel Sussman Travels the Globe in Search of the Oldest Living Organisms

For The Oldest Living Things in the World, the Brooklyn-based photographer Rachel Sussman traveled to all seven earthly continents in search of the planet’s most resilient living organisms. Working backward from the year zero, the photographer collaborated with some of the world’s top biologists and researchers to track down individual plants, corals, fungi, and bacteria that have persisted through at least 2,000 years to arrive at the present moment in human history.

The Largest Tree in the World Captured in 126 Photos

“If you think this photo goes on forever, try to imagine the actual scale of this mighty sequoia. Located in the Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park just east of Visalia, California, ‘The President’ is known as one of the largest trees in the world and is estimated to be around 3,200 years old.”

Standing 75.3 meters tall and 8.2 meters wide, the sequoia had never been completely photographed until photographer Michael “Nick” Nichols and some tree-climbing scientists set about the monstrous task.

Discover More