John Muir Wood was an amateur photographer who often took his inspiration directly from the Scottish landscape. Many of his photographs demonstrate similarities to conventional landscape painting by including a focus and either a path or a stream to lead the eye into the picture. Some images, including this one, depart from these familiar conventions. ‘Young trees’ is a calotype negative touched up with red ink or watercolour. An original and intense image, it gives the impression of a mysterious place that we can glimpse but not enter.