{"id":1445,"date":"2026-04-29T13:24:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T17:24:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/wrt118\/?p=1445"},"modified":"2026-05-01T15:19:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T19:19:44","slug":"i-found-her-in-the-trees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/wrt118\/i-found-her-in-the-trees\/","title":{"rendered":"i found her in the trees"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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For my final project, I wanted to give a commentary of the male dominance of the nature photography field. I have been doing photography for almost 8 years and have never felt like the industry was something easy to break into. In preparation for this project, I did research into who are considered the top nature photographers in the industry. I first read a list titled \u201cTop 10 Most Influential Nature Photographers Of All-Time\u201d and all ten were men. Then, as I wanted my project to specifically be photographing trees, I read a list titled \u201c15 Woodland Photographers You Should Know About,\u201d of which only two were women. This honestly really upset me and I wanted to create a project that really put how I was feeling about this at the forefront.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For my project, I spent a few hours in the woods observing nature through the female gaze. An article that I read titled \u201cNature Photography and Femininity: Exploring the Intersection of Art, Gender, and Identity\u201d talks about the masculine coding of outdoor activities with focus on \u201cconquest, strength, and domination over nature\u201d and calls for a more feminine and appreciative approach with a focus on sensitivity, intimacy, and intuition. That is exactly what I tried to accomplish with my project. I used my zoom lens to focus on smaller parts of the trees rather than focus on expansiveness. My final project is a photo series of trees that resemble vulvas. In doing this, I attempt to bring the audience face to face with explicitly feminine imagery, forcing them to confront the misogyny that is built into the industry. It also serves as a remix of popular nature photography by utilizing a feminine photography style that embraces intimacy with each tree and, because the photographs evoke vaginal or yonic imagery, also produces a sensitivity, closeness, and perhaps even discomfort that goes beyond an average photograph of a tree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The process was itself very intimate as well. As I mentioned before, I spent many hours in the woods. I took nearly 400 photographs and only chose only the best 9 to display for this project. Through this process, I got to know each tree very well as I scanned over their entirety and studied each part to search for the images I wanted. Also, as I was using a zoom lens on my camera, I got very up close and personal with the trees and was able to observe all of their details. Then, I had to look over all of the nearly 400 photos to select which ones I wanted to use for the final project, which meant spending even more time analyzing and getting to know the trees through the photographs. After that, I spent a few hours color editing the 9 photos I selected to be best able to present the images. This meant seeing how I could best produce the vaginal imagery that I sought, working with contrast and shadows as well as temperature and tint. My process mimicked the remix and commentary that I was attempting, which was honestly very beautiful and symbolic for me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think that remix, originality, and identity have a deeply intertwined relationship. Remix and originality can appear to be at odds with each other because remix is based on another cultural object. However, through applying one\u2019s identity and experience into the creation of a remix, one creates a work that is all their own. I keep thinking back to the beginning of the semester when we talked about originality and it seems to me that nothing is truly original. To me, every piece of art is a remix of something else made by someone else that has been altered using the artist\u2019s own identity and experiences. My project very much reflects that. To take photographs of trees is not original. To take photographs at all is not original. But to take my specific direction, influenced by my personal experiences, is a remix that is completely my own. Even if someone were to attempt to do the same thing as me, they still would not be able to replicate the same images of the same trees from the same angles with the same edits. This work is not necessarily original, but it is my own and it is unique. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of remix as a form of critique, I think that it can be an especially powerful one. The act of remixing something is often inspired by what that original thing is lacking, or the harm it may produce. Take this assignment, for example. We were asked to remix a cultural object that we feel underrepresented in. The act of remix was inspired by what we noted as an oversight or something lacking from media. So, we filled that void and created something new. The existence of a remix can make audiences confront these issues directly because they are able to notice the differences between the work that it is based on and the new take on it, making audiences understand the reason it needed to be made in the first place. In terms of my project, as I mentioned earlier on, the remix element of this project was one that really makes the audience confront the marginalization of women in the nature photography industry. Additionally, by bringing the audience face to face with imagery that borders on graphic, the messaging is hard to ignore and can even make audiences feel uncomfortable, which can make them confront their own internalized misogyny and bias against feminine imagery. The goal of this project is to produce a new way of looking at nature through a feminine lens and engage in the field of nature photography without falling victim to the male dominance of the nature photography industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For my final project, I wanted to give a commentary of the male dominance of the nature photography field. I have been doing photography for…<\/p>\n

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