Something Amiss In The Marin Headlands North of San Francisco
I was tipped off recently that something had changed in the Marin Headlands impacting future photographs of the Golden Gate Bridge. The change…
a missing tree.
Not just any tree… the ONLY tree in the Marin Headlands in plain view from most lookouts in San Francisco. Regularly this small tree is in frame for most if not all Golden Gate Bridge photos that have been taken over the past couple of decades. I’m not sure if this tree was officially removed or if someone went out of their way to remove it illegally. Either way I’m curious if anyone has heard anything about this. I’ve done some basic research and have not come up with any news on this.
(Left) Golden Gate Bridge As Seen From The Marin Headlands in Sept. ‘07
(Right) Golden Gate Bridge As Seen From The Marin Headlands in Mar. ‘08 ‘07
Word is that this likely happened in late 2007. In January and February I had been in the area photographing the Golden Gate Bridge, but at night. I thought the tree was missing, but I chalked it up to being dark and didn’t think anything of it.
Thanks to artisart for pointing this out to me.
Technorati Tags: San Francisco, California, Golden Gate Bridge, Marin Headlands, tree, missing, photo, photography, stock
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That is disappointing!
By the way Jim, I noticed yesterday you topped 1,000 subscribers! That is great.
Ron
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nice shots Jim. btw, shouldn’t the dates be reversed? March 07 on the left, and sep on the right?
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@Ron Ah thanks… it was neat to see the subscribers peak above 1000. With a little luck that will be a bit more of a consistent event.
@ Richard Oops! That should read Mar. 08. I’ll have to fix that shortly. Thanks for pointing that out.
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Artists and photographers play an important role in being observant and sensitive to the earth’s contours and rhythms.
Thanks for sharing this important news about the missing tree!
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It was probably lost during the storm on January 4, 2008.
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@Jonah I’m not convinced that is the case. It might have very well been something like that, but the tree has survived worse storms over a longer period of time. One never knows…
Thanks for commenting.
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i am on a mission to find out what happened to this tree! i am from boston, have travelled many times to SF and always head to the headlands and “the tree” specifically. this lone, independent, beautiful tree. my husband proposed to me at this tree, making it even more special. my daughter’s name is marin, after the headlands. there’s a lot of attachment here. my sister-in-law broke the news to me this past summer when she gave me a piece of the tree in a frame. she drove over the GG one day and was shocked to not see the tree.
anyone???
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@lisa Given the sentimental attachment of the tree to you and your family it makes the loss of the tree all the more sad. I still have not found out if the tree was lost to nature or man yet. As soon as I do I’ll post a follow up to this. By all means if anyone else learns of what happened please share.
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lisa….. you might be interested in this set… http://www.flickr.com/photos/artisevidence/sets/72157603520199471/ many have been mourning the loss of “the one tree” …. http://www.flickr.com/photos/artisevidence/2085270290/in/set-72157603520199471/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/artisevidence/2440607799/in/set-72157603520199471/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/artisevidence/3464440160/in/set-72157603520199471/
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@bob thanks for posting the links to these sets. Amazing that the fake sign was thought to be real.
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I am very sorry about everyone’s tree-sadness.
As you probably might not know, the Marin Headlands was originally treeless. When the Army came in to build their forts and batteries they planted many NON NATIVE trees all over the area so if someone flew overhead they’d be covered. Even though it’d still be suspicious to see a bunch of random clusters of trees.
The Marin Headlands has been undergoing a lot of habitat restoration to restore the headlands to its original and natural state. Therefore the non-native tree most likely has been removed for that reason.
Other theories I can think of are..
Someone else like many many others had some sort of special connection to the tree too, (proposal, first kiss, they fell off of it.. etc.) and decided it was their own special tree, cut it down and planted it again in their backyard.
The tree was very obstructive to some photographer’s picture who only wanted the bridge in the shot so they shot it down.
A massive amount of termites invaded the tree.
The tree decided on its own to get up and move somewhere else with more cool trees, like the Hoh Rainforest in Washington.
Uh.. that’s all I’ve got. Don’t get me wrong though.. I’m not some evil tree hater person. I am a very tree and forest friendly person and have dedicated myself to environmentalism since I was 12 years old. I’m just saying the more truthful possibility of the tree’s disappearance.
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