Advancing Seasons in China

摘要

Repeat photography was a labor of love for Yin Kaipu. In 2004, at age 60, the botanist from the Chengdu Institute of Biology in China, decided to follow in the footsteps of American plant collector Ernest H. Wilson. At the turn of the 20th century, camera in tow, Wilson explored western China for Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum. Much later, Yin covered some of the same territory for his work and was excited to recognize places where Wilson had taken photographs. "The landscape that I saw had already gone through great change since Wilson's time," Yin says.It took him 7 years to gather 1000 of the historical photos, 400 of which had potentially telltale landmarks. Based on books that traced Wilson's travel routes, Yin plotted a course through the 753,300 square kilometers of Sichuan, Hubei, and Chongqing provinces. He estimated that, in advance, he could pinpoint each location to within 30 kilometers.