https://www.lensculture.com/articles/beth-moon-diamond-nights
Diamond Nights
Photographs and text by
Beth Moon
As night falls over the Makgadigadi Pans, large trees stand starkly against the horizon, leafless branches reach for the light. As the sun sinks lower, the sky drains of all color until just red remains. On the opposite side of the sky, Earth's shadow is rising, bringing a curtain of indigo and the promise of a clear night. Science and art merge as a myriad of stars burn fiercely overhead, dissolving into infinitude, and our thoughts follow.
Our relationship to the wild has always played an important role in my work. This series was inspired by two fascinating, scientific studies that connect tree growth with celestial movement and astral cycles.
Most locations were truly wild and remote, far from civilization and light pollution in the southern hemisphere of Africa in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. Mighty and eccentric baobabs and surreal quiver trees are featured in this work, titled after constellations named by the ancient Greeks and Romans.
