I find there is nothing better than a walk in the woods to settle and orient. Whether its because the woods harkens to our inner forager brain or because noticing the small things can help distract from the big ones - I don't really care. A walk in the woods can rejuvenate, replenish, and refill.
But do you notice how easy it is to walk without noticing? For me at least, a camera in my hand significantly shifts the level of detail I see in the world. It opens me to see opportunity in a snapped branch or a flower saying farewell to the summer. The dials and knobs are reminder of my creative capacity, the eyepiece a hint at the power of imaginative composition.
Final rites of summer
Over the past year I've attempted to see and photograph nature as a portrait photographer would. To sense its emotions, build a connection, find the right moment, and open myself to new angles of perception. From mountain silhouettes to intimate flowers, the various guises of nature present a continuous challenge. Not just to photographers but to all - to be able to see them with fresh eyes, to visit the same place week after week with an ever growing sense of possibility. It's hard. It takes discipline. And a lot of the time I suck at it - my memory card filled with nothing but the same but in different shades of flora.
There were no gems on this walk. No photographs I'll print or hang on my wall. But the walk itself was all I needed. And sometimes that is the point.