Seeing Beauty
finding joy with trees and bananas
Hello Dear Readers!
It’s snowing.
There’s ice on the rivers.
And I’m hanging out with photographs of trees…
…filled with leaves and light and wonder.
Sometimes, a tree is all I need, no matter the weather.
I just dive into my photo archive on Lightroom, search for 5 star images…and explore the play of light, color and texture in all manner of places…over decades.
But in the course of exploring, I remembered my comment last week about bananas (it was an afterthought) - - and how ten years ago I stopped at a then new rest area in Vermont and found banana trees growing in large vats, processing the wastewater from the site.1
It was so cool and odd…but I forgot about those bananas until just now…2
…even though I’ve been into bananas for a while - - first because their peels kept showing up in our compost pile…
…and then because I kept seeing them on streets - - everywhere!
Are they ugly blights, demonstrations of a healthy diet or fascinating examples of our dependence on a single crop - - Who knew, for example, that they are the most important global crop after wheat, rice and corn?3
It could also be that I’m thinking about bananas because of the absurd sale a few weeks ago of a banana duct taped to a wall for $6.2 million…Maurizio Cattelan’s most recent ‘piece’ was purchased by a cryptocurrency mogul.4
Usually I find bananas helpful for an upset stomach. Today, though, thinking about the weirdness of this banana farce, I feel queasy…so must return to the beauty of trees.
All that yellow and brown/black from the rotting banana peels reminded me of this vibrant photograph of the maple tree at the top of Balch Hill, in Hanover, NH - - I miss this tree. We lived at the base of the hill and would walk there all the time.
As a matter of fact, in 2014, the same year I visited that rest stop in Sharon, VT, I started a daily ritual of walking to this tree and photographing it from different perspectives.
I love how the branches of these trees, like the wayward banana peels on the streets, define positive and negative spaces. Who needs a banana on the wall when you can go outside and experience the living art that is a tree…or the remnant of a piece of fruit on the ground?
And so I return to the color green (Seeing Color, Greens), and the play of light (Follow the Light), and the textures of all those leaves (Seeing Texture, With Gratitude) and feel cared for…
…and full of wonder that a single image at a single moment plays so well with other images and other moments.
I’m thinking these might make lovely prints…not part of any official portfolio or ‘body of work,’ but just because they’re beautiful. What do you think?5
Thank you for sharing your time and this space with me. I know I say this every week, but I mean it. I’m truly grateful that you are here.
With gratitude for you being you,
Lyn
PS: Please tell me what kinds of photographs interest you in terms of what you might hang on your wall or give to someone else? I am finally making a business plan and want to think strategically about what kinds of work to promote, and where and how. Just comment below!
PPS: And if you are feeling generous, it would mean the world to me to increase my paid subscriber base by five people by the end of the year…
…Or, maybe give a subscription to 13 Tons of Love to someone you love…to do so, just follow this link: https://13tonsoflove.substack.com/gift
Actually, bananas don’t grow on trees - - their stalks aren’t made of wood - - so they are technically considered an herb - - Who knew?
I stopped at this rest area in 2014…It was just when I was beginning to document all that is involved in living within the planet’s means…and I was so inspired by the hope and possibility this rest area represented to me. Little did I know that ten years later I’d be living less than 10 miles away from this cool site!
It was at about this time that I read How Bad Are Bananas: The Carbon Footprint of Everything by Mike Berners-Lee and learned that bananas are one of the most carbon friendly of fruit because they come in their own packaging and can be shipped long distances without refrigeration because they ripen on the way to the store. By 2014, I’d already been obsessing over our family’s carbon impact for a decade, but only started writing about it around the time I stopped at that rest area. I think it was those bananas growing out of our collective shit that inspired me to dive deeper…where might this exploration lead, I wondered…
I love that I created two of these tree photographs in 2014 on a trip to Amsterdam with D. We were there for an extended visit and a family wedding. I think it was on that trip that I discovered that looking up the trunk of a tree grounds me…my feet have to be well balanced and connected to the base in order to stay steady…and stand like a tree.
Apparently more than 100 billion bananas are consumed each year globally. While there are over 1,000 varieties of bananas produced and consumed globally, most of us (47%) eat the Cavendish variety. Apparently 50 billion tonnes of Cavendish bananas are produced globally each year - - and it is the primary variety consumed in North America and Europe. (For more info, check out the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations).
To learn more about the cultural nuances of this masterpiece, read Joel Bowman’s piece The Eye of the Beholder.
It turns out I’m a prolific photographer, but have yet to master the art of selling my work on a regular basis. That will be part of my 2025 plan - - when I am finally settled and not thinking about moving or mourning the loss of my mother or house or garden or dog. Something else to distract me is bound to ‘come up,’ but wish me luck!
If you’re reading this and want to help me along, consider becoming a paid subscriber…it’s much less than purchasing a work of art, and you get beautiful images in your ‘In’ box every week!
These are beautiful Lyn - just what I needed today! Thank you for sharing your art and your narrative.
There is so much to unpack in this...thanks so much for sharing the powers of awareness and connection through these thoughts.