more than 20 years …

This invitation was to a project whose roots stretch back over twenty years. It was at this time that I came to Freiburg in southern Germany as a student, and one of my favourite pastimes was to wander around the old parts of town. There I discovered trees that didn’t belong: giant old cedars, at least one hundred of them, sometimes dominating a garden or destroying a path. It seemed as if the old houses had to struggle to maintain their place amongst the trees.

I was deeply impressed. I had just studied photography and my idols were Ansel Adams and Bruce Barnbaum, photographers who created their own distinctive visions of nature. My interest in great photographers convinced me that while a tree is beautiful in its own right, it can become immeasurably more beautiful when photographed. I had no theory about this, it was just a feeling. But I had a growing desire to visit each of these trees, to study them, and to capture them at exactly the decisive moment.

I am now absolutely convinced — and this is the fundamental idea behind the project — that there is a very special relationship between man and trees and that there are very few things that inspire us as much as trees do. Bringing together works by artists from around the world, the main aim of this monumental project was to verify and document this conviction. We wanted the artists who took part to succumb, once more, to the fascination of trees. We wanted to illustrate an incredible range of perspectives, inspirations, and artistic expression. Since we feel like having managed to produce such a convincing testament to the deep-seated connection between man and trees, then we are sure we can raise awareness worldwide both of the importance of trees and of the dangers they face. Perhaps it will be one step towards halting the increasing rate at which trees are being lost.

This brings us to the second aim of this project that is starting now: to compile as much information as possible about tree and forest initiatives around the world. We want to draw attention to the efforts of those who, whatever their discipline, are already convinced of the importance of trees, and to bring them together with those who have been inspired by this book. Last but not least, we are going to channel all profits from this project into initiatives that aim to protect trees and forests.

Please support us with your backing, your time, your enthusiasm. Let yourself be inspired and help us to create a truly impressive tribute to the trees of this planet.

Niklas Weiß

About us

Of course you want to know about us, what we do and how our work place looks like, the products we are doing on a daily basis. The following gallery shows exactly that: We are totally committed to doing fabulous books for top notch publishing houses, museums, governments and nobilty. Especially highly illustrated and thoroughly printed art books are a speciality for us. We are not a printer, though, but we do work with the finest printers inside and outside of Europe for the best possible outcomes. Another speciality of ours is to develop concepts for the entire final product — like we did for the Trees of the Planet project. In case you want to know more about the company behind the Trees project, please refer to our general website, which unfortunately is basically in German, but does not have too much text — www.weiss-freiburg.de