Artist's Statement
I have photographed the landscape and oaks of the South and West for almost 30 years. My formal education is in journalism and communications and an equal part of my time is devoted to writing assignments. I was introduced to photography in college as part of my journalistic studies. I pursued my photographic training through a combination of self-study and participation as student and assistant in various West Coast photography workshops, primarily through the Friends of Photography in Carmel, California. At a workshop in 1985, I met California architectural and landscape photographer Morley Baer and began a mentor relationship that lasted almost a decade until his death in 1995. Each year, I would travel to the Monterey Peninsula, and whether I was attending a workshop or not, Morley would make time in his schedule to spend time photographing together in the area. He would pick a route along the Central Coast or the back roads through the inland valleys and we'd photograph and talk about making photography. Though I learned the technical aspects of black-and-white printing (the “how”) through hours of work in the darkroom, my conversations with Morley focused on the “why” of photography – why someone chooses what goes into the frame of a photographic print, and why it matters. One day in response to my question about how to make more meaningful photographs, he said, “find something you love and photograph it again and again.” That one piece of advice has guided my work for three decades. I returned to Louisiana and began a series of photographs of the local live oaks – of individual trees in fields, in groves and alleys. The more I slowed my pace to match that of the century-old oaks, the more they revealed about their individual character and moods. The more I explored my deep feelings for them, the more I learned about myself and the magic and wonder I experienced when around the trees. Over a weekend at the summer solstice in 1992, while photographing at one of my favorite alleys of oaks, I had the clear and distinct memory of what I can best describe as a past life. It wasn’t strange or otherworldly, but similar to the experience you might have when you walk into a house where you lived as a child and your mind is suddenly filled with impressions and feelings of the past. Except these weren’t memories from my childhood. And I knew with certainty that it was from another time period – a time in which I was the son of the man who planted this particular alley of oaks. In that life, I had made a promise to my father on his death bed to tend the welfare of these trees. Somehow this promise carried beyond the limits of that one life, possibly because the oaks had survived far longer than one life's commitment could encompass. In March of 2008, I returned to Louisiana after living away for more than a decade for various writing and family commitments. In returning, my focus now is to complete several photo projects involving the oaks that have been in process since the publication of my first book, "Heartwood, Meditations on Southern Oaks." One is a series of photographs of several historic oak alleys across Louisiana paired with stories of their historical background. The next is a documentary project in which I’m attempting to locate and record the 100 oldest member trees in the Louisiana Live Oak Society (see a description of this series in the section titled, “The 100 Oaks Project”). The oaks have also introduced me to larger issues. Today, I support the preservation work of groups and organizations that study, care for, and promote protection of the oaks and other old trees My goal is to gain attention for the importance of oaks and other trees in our lives. Not just as decoration, but as a positive, healthful, peaceful influence on our urban and rural environments, and as a source of spiritual sustenance and connection with nature. Thank you for viewing my website and taking time to learn more about my journey with the oaks. Please sign the guest book before you leave and I’ll add you to my mailing list for future news and print sales. – William Guion