Nude Photo Shoot to Protect Oldest Tree in North America Interrupted by Police {VIDEO}

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Jack Gescheidt has developed a following for his nude photography aimed at protecting ancient and threatened trees. Watch the video above to learn a little more about how this started and has grown.

In a recent photo shoot in Charleston, South Carolina, he and 25 nude activists were engaged in a photo shoot to protect Angel Oak, an ancient tree believed to be about 1,500 years old! Angel Oak could be the oldest living tree in North America but it is threatened by a new development nearby.

Unfortunately, the police crashed the shoot and detained participants.

If you haven’t checked it out yet, Gescheidt’s photography is pretty amazing. Beautiful art with a purpose. “Gescheidt’s photographs are absolutely gorgeous, at times juxtaposing the textures of smooth skin and rough bark as the models drape themselves around the tree and at other times positioning the models almost as if they alone could protect the tree from potential demise,” Jaymi Heimbuch, a photographer and green blogger on TreeHugger, writes. It really is gorgeous, amazing photography and art.

As Gescheidt says in the video at the top, the nude factor in his photography is not just an attention-grabber, and not primarily an attention-grabber — it is critical to the art and aim of what he is trying to capture or show. Check out more photos at the TreeSpirit Project.

While the photo shoot mentioned above got interrupted early on, some photos from the shoot are available for purchase and go towards future photo shoots aimed at protecting ancient, threatened trees.

Photo via JackPhoto.com



Zachary Shahan (1967 Posts)

I'm the director of CleanTechnica, the most popular clean energy website in the world, and Planetsave, a leading green and science news site. I've been covering green news of various sorts since 2008, and I've been especially focused on solar energy, electric vehicles, bicycling, and wind energy for the past few years. You can also find my work on Scientific American, Reuters, Think Progress, GE's ecomagination site, several sites in the Important Media network, & many other places. To connect on some of your favorite social networks, go to zacharyshahan.com or click on some of the links below.


  • http://Web Lorna Hattler

    What a wonderful day this was! Please visit our website to see what a developer and the City of Charleston has planned for this ancient tree. savetheangeoak.org and don’t forget to sign our petition!

  • http://Web Cynthia Shahan

    Lovely, exquisite use of skin, the human landscape with naturalistic planes, lines, and forms in a multidimensional unity with natural landscape. So wonderful, as skin should be seen