David Licata | April 16, 2012
I met Jim Robbins when I followed David Milarch around a grove of Redwoods in Northern California in the fall of 2007. It was a tense shoot (you can read about it here), and Jim’s cool presence did a lot to settle my nerves. We’ve kept in touch, and when he comes to NYC, we [...]
David Licata | April 12, 2012
Did you read yesterday’s New York Times Op-Ed Why Trees Matter, written by friend of A Life’s Work Jim Robbins? No? Well click the link and check it out. You may be surprised to learn (or re-learn) all the good things trees do for the planet and its inhabitants. I re-learned that aspirin comes to [...]
David Licata | December 20, 2011
The forest is a peculiar organism of unlimited kindness and benevolence that makes no demands for its sustenance and extends generously the products of its life activity; it provides protection to all beings, offering shade even to the axeman who destroys it. Guatama Buddha, circa 525 B.C.
David Licata | December 6, 2011
Here’s about five and half minutes of raw footage from A Life’s Work. I shared this footage in an earlier post (Process: What I’m Thinking When I’m Shooting). I want to share it again for a different reason. I really enjoyed filming the climbers. They were smart, athletic, down to earth, and funny. They seemed [...]
David Licata | November 21, 2011
You discover many fascinating things here on the A Life’s Work blog, like what’s the filmmaker’s favorite tree. And today? What’s the filmmaker’s second favorite tree. … ginkgo [or maidenhair tree], often seen in big-city streets, as it has a constitution to survive the dangers there: polluted air, desert aridity of pavements, salt used to [...]
David Licata | October 14, 2011
The other night I went to see Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon at the Brooklyn Public Library. I’ve seen this film quite a few times, and a few years ago, while preparing for the Redwoods shoot, I watched the Woodsman’s trek sequence over and over. You can see it here, 7:20 into the clip. It lasts almost [...]
David Licata | September 20, 2011
Oh, the joys of D.I.Y. filmmaking. I’m putting together a new press kit. In addition to stills of each subject pulled from the interviews, I’m going to include four or five of these at the bottom of each page. Which are your favorites?
David Licata | August 23, 2011
Last year around this time I was in the White Mountains of California shooting Bristlecone Pine trees. Along with my video gear, I lugged my Polaroid SX-70 and took these. As you may be aware, Polaroid went bankrupt and so they stopped producing film, but an organization called the Impossible Project has taken up the [...]
David Licata | August 12, 2011
My good friend Jane Waggoner Deschner shared these quotes with me. The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit. ~ Nelson Henderson When eating a fruit, think of the person who planted the tree. ~ Vietnamese proverb I was trying to figure out which one [...]
David Licata | June 28, 2011
Last week, the A Life’s Work blog turned two years old. That sounds pretty insignificant, and in the scheme of things, it is, but to me it’s kind of staggering. I track, list, and calculate many things, as you’ll see if you continue reading, but one thing I don’t dare track, list, or calculate is [...]
![](http://alifesworkmovie.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/robie1-150x150.jpg ""What the Hey Were You Doing in Chicago?" Part 2")