Monuments to the Past is an exhibition of large photographic images from a new book by Bill Rives & Julie Speidel of Vashon Island’s ancient stumps. The photographs for the show and book create an immersive forest experience that connects us with nature and brings to life a little-known Vashon Island treasure that is an important part of our natural history.

Come to this First Friday show opening and book launch and meet Bill and Julie.

Trees are a powerful weapon against climate change. They sequester carbon, enrich the soil, and make our air cleaner and cooler. Across the world today, governments and international organizations are focused on planting billions of trees to make our planet healthier. An important goal of this show and book is to bring more awareness to this work. 

Known for his nature photography, Bill Rives has been photographing for more than five decades. Over those years he has also been a member of the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine, and co-founder with his wife Susan of the company Scientific Explorer. Photography became a passion when he was a young lawyer and head of the Sierra Club in western Washington. Rives has remained a curious and dedicated nature photographer, with an interest as well in the urban experience and the implications of a rapidly changing world. He strives for images that express the thoughts and feelings he has in the moment and hopes they say something worthwhile to others who view them. He travels extensively with his camera to record images from distant mountain ranges, the fjords of Glacier Bay, woodlands of Africa, the Sonoran Desert, rainforests of Central America, and city streets in the USA and Europe. In his Vashon Island studio, he makes large prints on fine art papers.

VCA wants to thank Bill and Susan Rives and Julie Speidel and Joe Henke for their generous gift of donating 100% of the proceeds from sales of the photographs and book to VCA to support its programs for children and the community.

More information and view the show online