Marked for Removal

I walk past these trees with my dog. The local council has decided they’re too old or damaged or diseased and have no value any more.

They’ve been marked for removal.

A cropped photograph of three small trees marked with yellow paint. Photographed with handheld flash.
A cropped photograph of a gnarled old tree marked with a yellow paint spot. Photographed with a handheld flash.
A cropped photograph of a large eucalypt tree marked with a yellow paint spot. It has a plastic collar to attached to prevent possums climbing the tree.

It happens every couple of years. Workers with chainsaws come and cut down the trees with the yellow paint.

A cropped photograph of a tree marked with a yellow paint spot. Photographed early morning with a handheld flash.
A cropped photograph of a tree marked with a yellow paint spot. Photographed early morning with a handheld flash.
A cropped photograph of a tree marked with a yellow paint spot. Photographed early morning with a handheld flash.

I feel a kinship with these trees. As a photographer, growing older and the relentless march of AI are making their mark.

A cropped photograph of two trunks of a eucalypt tree both marked with yellow paint spots. Photographed with handheld flash.
A cropped photograph of a man wearing jeans with a bare torso and a spray painted yellow spot on his chest.
A cropped photograph of a eucalypt tree with rough bark, marked with a yellow paint spot. Photographed with handheld flash.

But right now I’m riding the optimism of February. This isn’t a mark of removal.

It’s my Mark of Renewal.

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