Mark Hirsch photographs "That Tree"
In early 2012 photographer Mark Hirsch, of Platteville, Wis., was still recovering from a near-fatal accident when he took a picture of an ancient Bur Oak tree in a nearby cornfield. Hirsch used a new iPhone rather than his standard camera equipment.
Inspired, Hirsch began a year-long project to capture a picture a day of the oak, finding solace, and heretofore hidden beauty, in his towering, monumental subject.
The results not only became a viral sensation; as he told CBS' "Sunday Morning," the project gave him "healing and inspiration that I needed more than I had realized."
By CBSNews.com senior producer David Morgan
Indeed, during the course of his year-long project, Hirsch captured the tree at all times of day, in every season and every form of weather imaginable. "I was there, waiting and watching, taking note of the simple beauty I had missed for so long," he said.
March
April
Sunrise shadows and repeated patterns on That Tree.
May
June
July
Using the iPhone app SlowShutter, Mark Hirsch captured a time-exposure image of the flight paths of fireflies as they dart in and around That Tree at dusk.
August
September
October
November
Hirsch: "That Tree is reflected upside-down in the heavy snowflakes melting on the window of my truck."
December
January
February
Cast in the blue light of dawn, fresh snow clings to the trunk of That Tree.
March
Hirsch: "I spent the day at a forestry conference so it was early evening before I headed out in the cold rainy weather seeking today's photo. Extremely difficult shooting conditions."
Three hundred people showed up in the Wisconsin cornfield, along with 12 dogs.
After Hirsch climbed 60 feet up the tree to shoot the group from above, fellow photographer Steven Schleuning captured tree and fans together (left) from a nearby cherry picker.
"That Tree," he told "Sunday Morning," "taught me to slow down, take time to look around, and appreciate the almost (but not quite) hidden beauty that abounds in our world - sometimes even in your own backyard."
thattree.net
Photos of That Tree (Facebook)
markhirschphoto.com
"That Tree" by Mark Hirsch (available August 2013)
Watch: Mark Hirsch photographs "That Tree" ("Sunday Morning")
By CBSNews.com senior producer David Morgan