There is an irony in being a nature blogger. It is easy to spend more time using technology to blog about nature than actually enjoying nature. So today I deliberately left the good digital camera at home during my hike along New Hope Creek.
I hadn't walked far when the leap in my heart whispered, "take a picture." So I pulled out the smart phone. The creek was low and still, the sky was achingly blue, the trees just starting to turn color, the low angle of the sun perfect for reflection.
What is this urge to capture the moment? To hold it, to share it? I sat by the creek and meditated, trying to empty myself of words that describe, images to hold. It's hard.
On the way back, I encountered another still life in a pool among the rocks.
It's my new screensaver.
Or do I like it better upside down? A peek out of a cave at trees blurred by a breeze, leaves floating in the air.
We love nature, yet we can't stop manipulating it.
12 comments :
Pretty darn great photographs from a phone camera! I think the human need to create, as in photography, is also of nature. And well done here!
i agree that we're trying to capture the moment. Such beauty fades, and we want to remember the joy that it bring to us.
With my long white winters these images I capture are all I have to sustain me until the garden awakens...I love the memories they bring forth!!
must be a smart phone. very crisp. and cool. greggo
Linnie, I was amazed that the photos turned out as well as they did ... Yes, we are creative creatures :)
HolleyGarden and Donna, so true that we want to hold onto the joy.
Greggo. It is one smart phone. Perhaps smarter than I am :)
That is my inner struggle as well. I manipulate nature, but I have a great desire to leave well enough alone. I suppose the secret is to find the balance. Great photos of the reflecting water.
My friend and I talked about this the other day. Living in the moment and absorbing the actual moment and capturing it in our memory rather than in photos. Wondering if we are missing out on making memories because we're too busy trying to capture a moment. It's a true struggle. There are times when my heart aches for my camera when I don't have it...mostly I find it's the quality of light that I want to remember. It's breathtaking at times. Your 'smart' phone shots are beautiful.
Sage, glad to hear you identify with the struggle between manipulating or 'capturing' nature and appreciating it as it is.
Cat, I often wondering whether I'm missing out on true appreciation of the moment when I'm behind the camera. And yet the camera is so wonderful at capturing details that the eye misses, so it's easy to rationalize that the camera helps me appreciate nature more! Some of both, I expect ...
I have that same reaction to the light, particularly at this time of year. It's so beautiful I feel nostalgic even while experiencing it.
Sheila, this post really struck home. I just took a week's vacation and did a few little day trips, and the camera was out the whole time. Sometimes it's a real gift--I have to take activity pretty easy, and the camera lets me enjoy the slow pace and shows me things I might otherwise miss. Sometimes, though, I feel greedy, like "taking" a photo really is an act of taking somehow. I stop enjoying nature and start wanting just that one more shot. (Gimme, gimme, gimme.) I'm certainly glad you took your phone camera, at least--what beautiful "leap in the heart" moments.
Stacy, I'm glad the post resonated with you. I, too, sometimes feel that "greedy" feeling when taking photographs. Almost like it's addictive - just one more, then one more. It's interesting the terminology we so often use, like nice "capture." Ideally, I'd prefer to lose myself in the wonder of nature, but in practice I too often end up losing myself in the square box. I suppose the answer, as in most things, is moderation :)
Wow, beautiful! Lovely photos!
I too feel like I want to keep a hold of those memories and the beauty of the nature around me.
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