*Time with an Elder - “Listen to the Trees” Collection - © 2021 JC Buck*

Long before you, long before me, a unique tree stood, high above the clouds in Colorado.

Trees are often considered representative of life, wisdom, strength and power. Philosophers regard trees as one of the few living witnesses to the evolution of human existence. From the Tree Of Knowledge to the Ancient Chinese who attached human characteristics to trees and wove them through poems and literature, trees have remained at the center of thousands of years of mythology and mysticism. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why they are so magical; but we’ve all stood completely still in nature and marveled at the trees. We all know the feeling. It’s part of what makes Colorado….Colorado.

And so yes, that was the feeling I was swimming in one quiet weekday evening in the Mt. Evans Wilderness Area. It wasn’t just ANY tree in Colorado that sent me into the deep end of this emotional state of wonder. It was an ancient Rocky Mountain Bristlecone Pine, part of a small grove of elder trees dating back to the fall of the Roman Empire with ages between 1,000 and 2,000 years old.

The idea that I was standing next to something that had been alive over 1,500 years was breathtakingly beautiful. This tree has seen such enormous amounts of change in the world. But at the same time, it had stood here unchanged, living on, cycling through mother nature’s seasons over and over again.

*Time with an Elder - Gallery Wall - “Listen to the Trees” Collection © 2021 JC Buck*

It was a cold evening that I traipsed into the Mt. Wilderness Area in search of a Bristlecone Pine, at least colder than I had prepared for given it was still summer. And it was windy. So windy, in fact, that I had to weigh my tripod down as I captured black & white portraits of one of Colorado’s most ancient elders. The sun came in and out of the rush-hour traffic of sunset clouds, offering up a variety of light to work with throughout the shoot. And the lone Bristlecone Pine, swept over from years of wind, with its twisted trunk, made for a stunning portraiture subject.

But the way this tree made me feel was what I relished in the most. When I am working behind the camera, I find myself in the moment, focused, calm, and content; the antidote for a life filled with running thoughts, irrational anxieties, and annoyingly restless toe-taps. When I’m behind a camera, I’m HERE, in this moment, doing exactly what I love to do. And this tree? I felt like it was saying the same; I’m here, standing in this moment, doing what I love as I watch humanity unfold year after year.

Was it the act of taking pictures that brought me this calm or the presence of an old wise tree? I would argue both. We have much to learn from our elders, they will tell us, repeatedly, what to focus on, what is most important, but do we listen?

The next morning, I woke up recalling a very strange and vivid dream, I dreamt that all the world's trees were once living people. What a crazy and neat thought. Was I reunited with an old loved one on that mountain, a family member, someone I once was close to?

Do you have a special tree? If you are looking for answers, comfort, company, take a walk amongst the trees. They have much to offer.

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