Today I took a walk. This walk was well overdue. I brought my new best friend, my Lumix G7
Panasonic Camera. A fraction of what my eyes see and how they see it are captured by this awesome device. The ability to capture moments and images already created in harmony waiting to be discovered is a new excitement for me. As an artist its humbling to appreciate the ultimate art, the art that never ceases to amaze me, the art of nature.
LESSONS
This photo, the first one I took this day. As I walked half way into this vast so perfectly welcoming pathway of trees, I was petrified at what possibilities were at the end. The light at the end so seeming bright and warm scared the shit out of me.
I then realized it has been far to long since I’ve walked into a forest without knowing where exactly i was going. I wanted to turn back. I WAS SO SCARED OF THE UNKNOWN. My brain started tricking me into thinking i was walking into my doom. Somehow I kept walking!
Soon enough I cleared the brush and stepped through that very opening of light, that glimmer of hope preceding my own struggle with what I did not know. There it was a hill a stream and a hidden oasis budding with new spring life and color. The snow melting away to reveal the beginning of a new time a new season and more importantly new life.
The deeper I got into this new world the more I wanted to see. My natural inclination to rush my way through everything had me trying so hard to find any live models, animals, bugs or anything that would move. That feeling that was once fear turned into curiosity and I found myself filled with this new power, that even if a wolf came right up to me I would be calm and capture him in all his beauty. That being said I found no wolves but once I calmed down for real and found my patience, about one hour after the forest got used to me there all the little and big creatures came out to say hello. But it wasn’t until I took a deeper look that I realized they were always there. Living in the moment and welcoming me through mutual harmonious existence.
At this point I stopped listening to my brain and started following my intuition. I looked deeper into all the possibilities around me and found moment after moment to capture. Rather than me forcing any sort of development, everything was presented to me so clearly. It was all because I CHOSE the moment, within those very moments there were so many layers of beauty to appreciate. The smallest details that nature creates like this milkweed below getting ready to be blown into the wind and populate an uncharted area of the forest. Or the moment I’m capturing a yellow bellied sap sucker and a plane flies right over my head reminding me of the freedom I have to go anywhere I desire.
Once I got to this point naturally I wanted more. More, more, more, more, I got greedy and started looking for even bigger animals and even more whimsical moments. It wasn’t until my camera battery died. This un-organic thing just stopped working for me. My tool, my one proof of the magical findings of this bright day. At this point the most amazing and valuable lesson from this whole journey came to realize. It was a Falcon, my spirt animal, the prince of the sky. Soaring high above me without a care in the world. In all its beauty, free to come and go as it pleases. But that wasn’t the end, soon after a the rest of the flock came whipping through the trees. It was 5 gorgeous Canadian falcons flying and hovering over me for what it felt like an eternity. I finally felt completely in the moment and my need for more satisfied by these not so simple birds. This feeling was worth every doubt and fear I had walking into this new world right outside my door. No care in the world that i couldn’t take a photo and make this moment last forever because my brain will remember this feeling and moment for as long as I will live. Every vibrant capture from the day will now and always culminate and remind me of this final felling I got that is truly just mine.
You see when we realize fear is just false evidence appearing real and the potential of the unknown is reliant on our own ability to find patience inside and be in the moment, the return can be even more than you could’ve imagined. For these moments and all the ones proceeding I am grateful.
GO ON A WALK !
-Hani Abaza
