For artists is there no more mysterious notion than that of how the landscape appears through the eyes of an animal. How does a horse or an eagle or a deer or a dog see the world? How miserably soulless is our convention of placing animals in the landscape as we perceive it, rather than seeking to penetrate the soul of the animal so as to glean something of its own world of images.
Art is nothing but the expression of our dream; the more we surrender to it the closer we get to the inner truth of things, our dream-life, the true life that scorns questions and does not see them.
Franz Marc – 1912
MY CONNECTION TO PHOTOGRAPHY
I have always had the sense that something in nature wanted to connect and speak with me. And conversely something deep in me desired to respond. Photography became the medium I have used to create a doorway to this new connection. Stepping through it has radically changed my perception of the world. For me this is akin to giving my dreams something of my substance through an act of creation.
As I walked along the river valley trail where I live I would calm my mind and open myself to “hearing” the whispers of desired connection. I would take the photograph(s) with as little formality as possible and then move on. New feelings and the opening response of my deeper psyche have led to connections that I am only gradually becoming more conscious of.
In a sense I am giving my essence to the creation of a new relationship with nature and with my deeper psyche. A new story of self. This certainly isn’t about making money or becoming famous. It is about the growing awareness in myself that there is much much more to life out there and within us than we have been led to believe through the prevailing “myths” of our time.
I like many different styles of photography. Each one provides a slightly different doorway into mystery. I don’t use any tools to make my photographs better, more perfect. I feel they are works of art in and of themselves, an expression of seeing in a new way.
So I’ll keep on playing and wondering how the natural world, a tree, a bird or a daisy sense my soul.
Share:
