Friday, December 3, 2010

Staying Green

Will I learn anything from the people who took these pictures of Christmas trees long years ago?

What must have seemed crisp magic to them proved elusive.

I think I know why people take pictures of their Christmas trees, and I think I understand why such photographs disappoint. Without the equipment or expertise of magazine and catalog photographers, some trees look a muddle in the picture on which you or I click. Our trees with their lights and ornaments appear the earnest efforts that they are when they promised instead to be something mystical.

The truth is, I fear, that photos of Christmas trees rarely appeal to anyone other than those who decorated them.

I salute – somewhat wistfully – these three photographers and the earnest hopes at the heart of their Christmases.

I am safe for a few more days from the temptation to preserve a memory of any tree this year.

Might Christmas trees stay best and greenest forgotten?

3 comments:

Ur-spo said...

I think Christmas trees evoke personal memories, which only pertains to the immediate owners of the tree.
Otherwise strangers see it as 'not a proper tree'.

John said...

A tree is a sculpture of sorts, isn't it? The experience of its three dimensions in the many lights of our daily lives can elude the camera.

Vic Mansfield said...

And trees decorated are very personal pieces of sculture. And not all are gifted with the same "decorating" skills! (No accounting for taste, and all that).