Long Weekend Reflections

Lavender Pearled Buddha Tree

Reflection 1

Reflection 2

Here are a few reflections, written (variant haiku) and photographic from a wonderful long weekend of hiking and photography at Komoka and the Pinery in the company of a most enchanting friend.

Forest breathes
The sound of waves
From a distant sea



Two ripples Intersect
Together briefly
Forever changed



Crocodile
Takes your breath away
Drowned in beauty

Water Elemental

Over the past week, my mind has been preoccupied with the nature of the creative process. How does it work? Where does it come from? To help facilitate some kind of answer I have looked through some literature from many different fields and contemplated upon some of my work and I still have no clear idea or view on the nature of the creative process.

Take the photograph Water Elemental (shown above). This photograph was the last of probably a dozen photographs I took of the water flows over one spot in the Medway Creek. Each photograph was different due to the way the water was flowing yet, it was not until this final photograph that this face appeared seemingly out of nowhere to create a finished product.

Did I create this face? Did the creative process initiate from within me, outside of me, or was I merely a conduit for this image to appear and express itself to me? Does anyone have any thoughts on the matter?

Dreaming Sleeper

I am
A thought
Floating Up
From a deep well
of nothingness
A dream

Attitude

Work in a public service oriented environment long enough and inevitably you will come across attitude in all its many splendored forms. Bearing that in mind I decided to share this water abstract photograph I took last fall while hiking the Medway Valley Heritage Trail.

Bird Man

Bird Man is photograph I took one sunny day on an early spring morning in knee deep snow at Komoka Provincial Park. I had gotten off the main trails in the park and was following the course of a creek into a secluded valley hidden amongst the pine trees when I came across a section of the creek where new spring growth was coming up in crystal clear water. Taking advantage of the crystal-like clearness of the water I set my focus to the surface in order to use it as an extra lens. After a series of shots in which the image continually changed and evolved due to the water flow, Bird Man emerged.

I find it fascinating how magical water can be when used as an artistic medium. Water not only reflects it also appears to retain a long-term memory of what it has reflected and at any given moment too recall it under the proper conditions. It's almost as if water absorbs a piece or essence of whatever it has observed and reproduces those reflections as a form of communication for future viewers who are observant enough to notice.

Holy Mountain

Holy Mountain is the photograph that initiated my in depth exploration and love of water abstract photography. I was out on a hiking one of my favourite trails with a brand new digital camera in tow two autumns ago when I came across a section of Medway Creek that exhibited the most interesting colours. At this point I stopped, pulled out the new digital camera, and began putting it through the paces exploring all the different settings and features.

Needless to say, it was while playing around with the zoom settings on macro under differing light conditions and colour filters that I came across a method for creating water abstract photographs that have have the feel of paintings like the photograph, Holy Mountain.

It took me almost two years to come up with the title, Holy Mountain for this photograph. There was so much depth to this photograph that each time I looked at it something new would grab my attention. It wasn't until recently that I realized the one constant throughout my many contemplative observations of this photograph that there was always a golden haloed mountain ever present in the background, hence the title Holy Mountain.