In the Midst of Light

Images from the class's first winter trek two weeks ago. 

"We are constantly in the midst of light. We are surrounded, bathed, and nourished by it. This miracle we call light can transform. It can teach, reveal, evoke, and heal. It speaks in many voices."

"We tend to see light as something that makes form visible, but             light reveals much more. It reveals us."

"In the subtle, soft undulations of a snowscape illuminated by an overcast sky, in the rare presence of a backlighted, towering, ancient oak, both subject and photographer are revealed. Light makes visible invisible."

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Quotations in this post from John Daido Loori's book, Making Love With Light

My friend and teacher Mary Whalen used her 'stereoscopic' combination camera on the walk. She caught me here,  in the light

Making Love with Light

light is energy,

energy is enlightening.

the group settles:

six souls.

one brave one 

begins our journey by

feeding us from Minor White,

Yasuhiro and Tichy~the tarzan that retired,

the creative spirit resurrected

from his confinement

stretching to ours.

we meet again in the morning

 and settle into wooded waters...

the six of us ready to relax into 

'making love with light'.

i step out into the night

looking for the moon

hidden behind the promise of snow

and 

begin this new relationship.

the title is from the book

MAKING LOVE WITH LIGHT:

Contemplating Nature with Words and Photographs

by John Daido Loori

And reminding myself:

MY mountain light is wherever  I am.

"I STILL HAVE EVERYTHING"

small bowl, feather, shell

one of my new photographs seemed to call for Naomi Shihab Nye's poems. here are two:

I STILL HAVE EVERYTHING YOU GAVE ME

"It is dusty on the edges.

Slightly rotten.

I guard it without thinking.

Focus on it once a year
when I shake it out in the wind.

I do not ache.

I would not trade."


and


HIDDEN


"If you place a fern
under a stone
the next day it will be
nearly invisible
as if the stone has
swallowed it.

If you tuck the name of a loved one
under your tongue too long
without speaking it
it becomes blood
sigh
the little sucked-in breath of air
hiding everywhere
beneath your words.

No one sees
the fuel that feeds you."

a new cycle: the arch and the year

MY Arch

My 'roadside' attraction, my arch,

 hadn't been visited by me in some time

Being the first day of our new year

I felt it was time.

A short drive, really.

No texting while driving

but 'shooting' the road

was a must.

documenting

often my forte'

Cold rain, with an occasional snowflake,

gave the weathered basketweaving

a certain sheen in the dreariness.

I wondered if my camera would be 

all right in this wetness as I pondered:

Nature has its way of deepening thoughts,

of warding away concerns and time.

The arch pulls me in.

It stands tall through the years.

Grasses were not cut in front of it.

I wondered if the road crews had ever

considered cutting it away.

Should I inquire?

Fate can't always be trusted.

There are a few older posts of this arch in different seasons from the last couple of years. Enter 'arch' in the search box, or click on the titles in the Labels box right below this.