Big Basin Redwoods

April 12, 2015 | Boulder Creek

By Kimberly Maroon

Stories Live Inside Redwoods.

This was one of my last adventures into California wilderness. My goal for visiting Big Basin was to soak in as much as I could of the coastal redwoods, the oldest and largest trees on earth. I knew I would never need a photograph to remember the scale and beauty of this place. Yet if there was one piece I wanted others to see it would be how human these trees are and what I learned from looking more closely.

for going out, I found, was really going in. -John Muir

I loved being inside the trees. It was cool, dark, damp, and quiet. The redwoods’ trunks varied between bone, soft skin, rough wrinkled cracks, or hair. In some, I even started to see faces. Each tree had a unique story told through their textures, forms, and burn marks. By stepping inside I was attempting to examine and understand, look and feel, all before the camera illuminated that which my eyes couldn’t.

Redwoods are a lot like human beings in that they don’t wear their stories and experiences on the outside. As humans we have to draw in close, connect, and be patient when we uncover another’s story. I felt as though I needed to treat these redwoods in the same way—take time, respect, and care. While I don’t receive any feedback, I like to believe the photograph that is made from this experience is enough. The more time I spent looking, the more I saw, and understood. I hope others who see these images can take away their own secret message or discovery.