*tap tap tap* Is this thing on? We're recording? Oh, ok. Here we go...
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to my second attempt at blogging. The sound of the word itself is analogous to how I feel about the whole idea which might explain why I never got it off the ground the first time. Thinking about what to blog about is a bit like slogging through a knee-deep bog of cluttered ideas that clog my stream of creativity. Eeek! So let's pause for a moment. This is a photography blog. One creative expression of another. No pressure...
Maybe a good place to start is with a question; what allows profound creativity to sprout? The answer is as simple as it is difficult; presence.
Try this with me. (Pro tip: Read steps 2 through 4 before you do step one)
1. Close your eyes.
2. Take a deep, slow inhale in through your nose and exhale slowly and completely though your mouth. Do this again with a keen awareness of your body and the sensations of deep breathing.
3. Begin to notice what else you can sense of your surroundings without looking. Smells, sounds, hair tickling your nose. Don't adjust, merely sense.
4. Allow your mind to tumble, like a clothes dryer in slow motion, with what compels, inspires and energizes you. Simply allow thoughts to come and go with each inhale and exhale.
What came up for you? Sitting at my computer with the blinds closed to keep out the late April afternoon desert sun, the fan on a medium speed to move the air without that jarring squeak many ceiling fans develop, having worked on this new website all day to the detriment of my more scholastic studies, and nearly exhausting my mental energy for one day, I am reminded with each full breath why I have chosen to engage in photography and writing. Let me see if I can put this simply...
This planet is AMAZING! The diversity of life, color and form we cannot be sure exists anywhere else combined with the fact that my body and consciousness are all a part of it compels me to celebrate! Think about the way folks dance at a wedding. We may never know where those sweet moves come from. We only know that their purpose is unbounded celebration and sharing the good vibes that are flourishing in the heart of the person attempting to drop into the splits for the first time in 20 years. When I communicate the majesty, mystery, beauty, sorrow, turbulence or serenity of a particular moment in space and time through a photograph, I feel as though I am expressing my most genuine and ecstatic self. This is how I know I am connected. This is how I know that as within, so without. This is how I know that we must see ourselves in all forms of life and matter and treat the planet and the world accordingly. This is the invitation of my photography; See parts of yourself in the image and see parts of the image in yourself.
Whew! We made it through the first blog post! Stay tuned as Anthony and I embark on 6 months of van-life to destinations such Ten Sleep, Tetons, Yellowstone, Glacier, Banff, Squamish, Bellingham, Portland, Bend, Phillip, and Red River Gorge!!! Not to mention the thousands of miles in between!