A year in the life of That Tree, a photo a day by Mark Hirsch

I hope that most of you have seen A year in the life of That Tree, a photo a day by Mark Hirsch. Although this article is over a year old, I was unaware of this collection of photos until it was mentioned by some friends this week.


Who wouldn't love 365 photos of a bur oak? Many might think the project a little obsessive and the subject matter a little dull. But while I personally love the subject matter, the strength of the collection springs from Mr. Hirsch's creativity and artistic vision. He has a great eye. He puts the primary subject in context and gets us thinking about the tree's relationship to the landscape and all the species in it.


The subject came up during a discussion of whether an iPhone is a "real" camera. Ultimately, that's not the issue. I'm sure there were those who sniped at Picasso and Braque when they started gluing pieces of newspaper on the canvas. It may not have been "real" painting, but it's certainly real art. So are Mr. Hirsch's photos.