Henri Cartier-Bresson’s statement that ‘your first 10,000 photographs are your worst’ has a particular resonance for me. In my case, as well as being held back by a lack of craft, I could not find a suitable format to give life and shape to the landscapes I shot.
Infrared photography has provided an ideal canvas and allowed me to express my vision. In infrared light, organic matter glows white and the bright sky turns black, and between those extremes lies a range of contrasting tones that can be tightened or stretched to reveal form and texture.
I choose to photograph arboreal landscapes because a tree is a living thing to which people often attach emotional and sentimental value; I see them as a kind of metaphor for human lives. After all, a tree can set down roots and flourish, experience loss and renewal, and lean and wither as the years go by. I try to capture these changes through the filtered light on the upper branches, the leaves, the crown, and the trunk, day by day and season by season. I use the clouds and the sky both to frame and complement the subject.
All of these photographs were taken locally near my home in Ontario, Canada. Some stand out to me more than others, but each of them moves me in some way, which is all that I ask of my photography.
See more of Jeet’s work at jeetkumarphotography.com.