Have you ever felt a photo that captivates you and ushers you into a small world? I don't think of my photographs as just photos. They are small portals into the tales that nature reveals to us.
We often skim through a photograph and see the obvious - a flower, an insect, a tree, then we move on to the next. But what happens when we stop to consider it? When we take the time to notice its details, hear its whispers and feel its quiet pulse?
I am often out and about with my camera, and not every one but alot of my images has touched me in some way. It is astonishing how much vitality can be encased in one inflorescence. Take for example these yellow flowers (photos 1-3)... upon first glance they are just flowers. But take a second look! The small insects that are running around pollinating and looking for food, all part of a bigger picture. Each one has its job, its little adventure through this moment. I wonder where they are flying to, what stories will unfold for them next. And the flower? Simply standing, showing off its yellow effect and providing a home and food for these little inhabitants, wonderful!
Or how about these radiant purple beauties (photo 4)? They are proud and brash roadside blooms that dare the elements and prominently billow their colours and beauty. These colors are vibrant and exemplary because they convey that beauty can be seen from nearly anywhere - from a pathways, skirts or fringes. They are a small hope, showing us that life requires beauty and we all find beauty in something.
And then this unadorned cogitative white flower (photo 5) and delicate yellow flowers (photo 6) reaching toward the sky. They may not be imposing trees, or magnificent roses, but they demonstrate every bit as much delicacy and simplicity. They demonstrate resilience; they demonstrate the incredible power behind the beauty of small things; and they demonstrate the persistent desire for life.
There is always a narrative to every photo, and I am often shocked at how much a basic photograph can evoke the emotional or intellectual memories for me; I mean related to my own thoughts when I view and reflect on the image. I suppose it is not so much what we view, but how we feel in relation to what we have seen, and more significantly, what we connect to.
Finally, I would like you to pay attention to this single photo of a small maples tree (photo 7). Something small and tender made it here in the shadow of an establishment tree. This single little shoot represents so many elements; hope, new beginnings, unending emergence of growth and flourishing. Even in the presence of bigger specimens, even possibly out of the full light, there exists a place for new life to find its place to take root and grow. It is a soft reminder to me that life continues to move, change, grow, and flourish no matter what and even in the most 'unfavorable' situations.
Every photo, even if it appears inconspicuous on the surface, tells a deeper story. Every photo you and I take.
I hope I have stirred you somewhat to look at your own photographs or those you stumble upon in your everyday life, in new ways.🙃✌️
