the trees
A series shot on 4x5 direct positive, ortho and lith film in No Man's Land (1914-18), near Verdun, North Eastern France.
The ground was bitterly contested; French and German soldiers fought and killed each other in desperate hand to hand battles.
Trench lines, dangerous, unexploded munitions and barbed wire entanglements litter the scarred earth, as do day to day items like wine bottles, mugs and cooking utensils.
The atmosphere remains sad, silent, bleak and oppressive, even a century later.
It is, unfortunately, relevant again, in the 21st century, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where thousands of lives are expended, losing and gaining mere metres of ground to satisfy the genocidal hatred of an imperialistic, criminal, dictator: Vladimir Putin, who will, undoubtedly, meet a fitting end.
Images: November 2017
Words: December 2023
