Nature’s Wreath
One Picture/One Paragraph
I love being immersed in nature, being outside, especially in the forest. I did not grow up hiking, this being an activity introduced to me by my husband. He has a deep love for and interest in trees and animals, weather and water, skies and the history of things. This knowledge he shares readily with me and I try to listen and learn. But my way of knowing things is different than his. I experience the forest through my senses, feeling my way. I carry my camera but I’m not sure what I’m looking for. All of the pictures are explorations in how to see things differently. The forest in winter looks like a season of sticks and vines. It is beautiful, but how can I capture this overgrown woodland with its dappled light and tangled arrangement? Back at home, I look at the images, not sure what to make of my efforts. When I am in doubt in this way, I do research. I go to the work of one of my favorite photographers, a mentor I have never met in person, Janelle Lynch. I study her project, Fern Valley (2020-2021), a photographic meditation that “ … follows an abiding belief in the strength of the human spirit to persevere and the transcendent power of nature.” From Janelle’s work, I see the possibility in my own photographs, a way to map the contour of the forest. Describing the beauty that was there all along.