An oak tree in winter

                                     William henry fox Talbot – ‘An oak tree in winter’   1843

This image of the oak tree was one of the first positive salt prints from a calotype negative. It was fixed with a ‘hypo’ solution which removed the silver chloride so the image wasn’t sensitive to light and it fixed it, this allowed multiple positive images and prints. The composition of the photo is somewhat pleasing to the eye; Talbot has chosen to stand quite far away so the tree takes up most of the frame. I feel that Talbot hasn't taken this image from the ground and may be standing up higher so he is on the same level as the tree, as he is on par with it. It doesn't feel as the tree is taller or that he is standing over it although the oak tree seems to be taller that the other trees in the background and i feel this is done on purpose to maybe portray the other trees as people. The focus has been set directly onto the tree because it is the main focus of the photo and the lighting is natural and relatively gloomy. When i look at this image i personally feel very calm and maybe a sense of loneliness  because it was taken in winter i feel as the tree although has no leaves it can still stand tall and have strength which maybe is a metaphor for how Talbot felt about himself. I think Talbot was trying to portray the trees in the background as people and that the oak tree being someone from a privileged wealthy background. Although the industrial revolution was slowly being introduced in this time period i think Talbot was trying to show what was left of the nature around him. At the same time in Scotland 450 ministers broke away from the free church of Scotland. Robert Adamson and David Octavius Hill were some of the people who broke free and to mark this event they wanted to paint a picture of all the ministers. They used several calotype photographs to later help them with their painting of 'The Disruption Assembley'. The discovery of calotypes by Talbot then in turn influenced and helped the ministers with their painting. As Talbot's discover was being more widely known and used it would have made Talbot feel more influential within the photography industry. I looked deeper into the overall history of the oak tree and found that in particular the Celtic culture strongly believed the oak tree was a symbolism of strength and power and it would protect their families, this may in some way be a reason why Talbot chose this particular composition to portray the oak tree to be a dominant feature of the photograph.  Also looking into the history of the tree itself i found out that the oak tree is the national tree of England and many other nations, it is also know as the king/queen of the trees.