Equally as beautiful as new life peaking from the earth during the spring, I am truly captivated by the colors and the absolute imperfections of trees shedding their dreams during the fall. I say this as ever since I was a child I’ve always thought of the falling leaves this way. Never to color inside the lines, no rules to follow, to simply just be. I found the following images I captured in my backyard precisely that.
For more of my photography you can visit my gallery here
thumbs up to the clouds waiting for the train to catch that wind
the bell tolls silently so to those who listen
to those with no fear of letting go
i cradle my bag, my makeshift courage kit
to wander now needlessly to where the leaves blow, where they seem i shall fit
always the backseat traveler i still shan’t take the helm
for it not my eyes that lead, but my heart that swells
i follow where it takes me, perhaps to dead end roads
pulling out my kit with compass to direct me as best it knows
ye of little faith, the reclusive voice no more
for those journeys once forgotten i now ready the score
days absent of sunlight, of curtains drawn
now places me on this train, piercing through dusty windows all those what ifs now gone
Iris– U2
I photographed this image along the Blue Ridge Parkway, Milepost 34. I categorized it within my abandoned photography as what you see here is the remnants of an old logging railroad. Although it is abandoned it is not forgotten and is visited quite frequently among hikers and travelers alike and offers a serene, picturesque moment to step back in time. Thank you for reading. For more of my nature and abandoned photography please visit my gallery here.
my mind resigning its weight, a bare jewel afloat,
to kelp fields, dense and fragments dark,
guiding in this underwater dance floor
traversing through your canopies wild
seasons unfold before my eyes
gardens spring blooms from a winter’s release
while the sequoias of the sea lend me their lean, serenely keen to the sun drenched skies
cerulean paves these streets of peace
as buckets of wings residing beneath the sails of tide
to antiquities void of a pirate’s lore
filling my lungs along this cathartic ride
straying further and further from the salty fits that marry my skin ashore
i fall deeper and deeper into this estuary
where a love evolves, where my heart explores
slipping into frocks left behind of mermaids best
the ballroom awaits as i untether my weathered steps
to which it replies, please, be my guest
swimming anext urchins as they needfully feed
watching otters safely sleep between the holdfast trees
i am but a visitor but a resident akin
to this underwater sanctuary that wishes me au revoir
after welcoming me with ease
This piece was inspired from watching the documentary, My Octopus Teacher featuring the kelp forests of South Africa. Filmmaker and photographer, Craig Foster begins a year long journey studying and ultimately befriending an octopus living within the kelp forest. It is beautiful and heartfelt as well as an educational piece that I would recommend giving a watch.
In writing this I imagined and truly listened to the testimony of Foster of just how magical skin diving and traversing through this underwater garden becomes to the soul. Daily stresses seem to become weightless, as trees, anchored and wise, become our guides.
The images shared within this piece are that of Foster captured during his journey within the forests in South Africa.
Kelp forests, these beautiful underwater oasis’s, are endangered, mostly so by threats from fisheries, marine pollution, invasive species and climate change. If you’d like to learn more about the ambassadors of the sea check out Sea Change Project. The group, of which Foster is a member of, is striving to educate and protect the ecosystem that is a sanctuary and home to many marine animals and wildlife.
I captured these images during this season i like to call the awakening, I take every opportunity to find new trails and beloved known ones to find my own sense of renewal. Nature shall always mimic life as with every new journey, a new bloom unfurls.
Thank you for viewing and if you’d like to view more of my flora images, you can visit my gallery here
This piece was inspired by the lyrics of Maria Brink in her song Roots. Because my love of music is as much like my love of words, completely bleeding outside of the lines of any standard, i enjoy all styles. This is a favorite song that illustrates in my own way my love of nature, of growth and of that forever roaring word, resilience. I hope you give it a listen. Thanks for visiting and reading.
this little precious captured my eye on a recent hike and I loved the way it refused to conform to “proper growing standards”. I liken it to being in love with both the sun and the moon in its sideways stature. For more of my flora photography you can visit my gallery here.