A Walk in the Woods.
I have photography friends who are immensely gifted at walking in the woods and finding the most amazing pictures. My friend, Kate, zooms in on tiny details in pockets of light. She wanders trails, watching clouds, chasing light, savoring the scene one vignette at a time. Then there is my friend, Cathy. She finds beauty in her yard, in the park, over the lake and anywhere she walks with her sweet dog, Baker. She makes ethereal images, soft and glowing, of wildflowers and weeds and tiny mushrooms. She takes landscape images that remind you why it’s important to stop what you’re doing and look out the window. Or better yet, get outside.
I do not have this gift. I took a walk with my husband through the North Anna Battlefield in Hanover County, Virginia today. I love to be outdoors and I love to hike. But mostly all I see is brown. Brown stick figure trees. Brown curled leaves. Brown-ringed mushrooms growing on tree bark that look kind of like oyster shells. The light is dappled and everywhere I point my camera looks messy to me. It’s no secret that I lean toward perfectionism. I start down that old familiar road, the one where I am hard on myself for being myself. And then I stop and begin to look for the pictures that are mine to make. They are always there. Like old friends they step forward to greet me. They are not in the woods or on the trail but at the entrance, where light and color call out in invitation.