An oak tree in winter by William Henry Fox Talbot is a photo that has various meanings that aren't instantly visible however there are several points that can be drawn from parts if the image that may have contributed to how the final image was made. The main subject in photo is a large Oak tree that stands tall in the centre of the image above the rest of the trees that are in the background of the photo. An oak tree in winter was made on salt print from a calotype negative ,It was also one of the first of his photos that he used hyposulfite of soda to fix the images which made them far sharper than his images from before 1842. Oak trees are native to Britain and can live for centuries. During 18th century Britain, the period this photo was created the hard wood from the oak tree was used in a lot of furniture production therefor it was regarded as strong and reliable natural resource. I believe this is relevant to the photo as during the period the photo was made the vast British empire had remained unchallenged for around one hundred years so the tree could be seen as the British empire in some ways , stretching its reach over the world and rising above other nations. On the other hand Britain was going through massive economical changes during the 18th century that may have contributed to this photo. the industrial revolution that replaced lots of British workers with machinery had a profound effect on the agriculture in the countryside and i think that this may have contributed to the oak tree being pictured as it may have been seen as one of the last natural standing figures amongst the overwhelming amount of machinery in Britain at that time.
The composition of the photo is simple but effective as immediately the viewer is drawn to the large centrally positioned subject that takes up most of the frame. I think that the lighter contrast that the trees in the background have help to emphasise the darker tones of the main subject tree making it seem dominant. "but the present plate shows one pictured in the contrary manner, dark upon a white background or, speaking in the language of photography, it is a positive not a negative image of it." , this quote from the pencil of nature by William Henry Fox Talbot leads me to believe he felt positively about this image.Talbot has distanced himself far enough away from the tree to make sure the whole thing is framed but he still manages to make its massive size apparent. All of the Oak tree is in focus while the rest of the background is not quite as sharp. All of these techniques link back to my theory about the British empires influence on the photo. When i look at the image its makes me feel conflicting ideas as i like nature and the great outdoors as a person and through my own eyes but prefer photographs of mechanical man made subjects however as the industrial revolution may have had some kind of influence on William Henry Fox Talbot when taking this picture it makes me somehow feel a little bit more at ease when viewing it.
