Dear friends, i have a story that i have been wanting to tell you about for weeks....
Just before i left for Chicago i made a photographic pilgrimage in search of moving water. The inspiration for this particular quest was inspired by John Maslowski, a photographer whom i have come to admire very much over the short time we have been acquainted. I visit John's photoblog because i love the way my heart beats a new rhythm of joy upon seeing the natural world through his eyes. Admittedly John is a boy and it is not in my unusual form to post about boy persons on my blog. But this man is special. He is kind, he is generous and he is very, very talented. He is also humble. Go see his photographs of Ricketts Glen State Park. You will be transported to waterfall heaven.
I live in the temperate climate of the Pacific Northwest and if there is one thing we have plenty of it is moving water. It rains about 159 days a year and is cloudy for more than 220 days a year. I have decided that those facts are an artistic advantage. Water, rain and clouds make for some very dramatic photo opportunities.
So i went on a trek into the heart of the Columbia River Gorge and found myself in a world i had almost forgotten existed. With each step upward i found my heart not only beating with the effort of the climb but with the breathtaking beauty i saw in every direction i turned. I carried everything on my back like a good little hiker and i took pictures all along the way.
It is interesting to me how in the recounting of this story i found that i needed not to exaggerate or bolster the tale. It was enough for me to tell you just as it happened. I find that if i listen closely to my everyday experiences i discover they really are quite extraordinary. If i am fully awake and give myself the nudge to let go of adult knowing then i can enter a world that i imagine is more like a child's world of first discoveries. I loved the spirit of anticipation and fearlessness that accompanied my state of mind. My camera is a beacon that leads me into realms of seeing that i would surely miss if i hadn't decided to simply take pictures everyday and everywhere i go.
To reach my destination i was required to take a vertical climb of about a mile and a half of switchbacks that gradually revealed the unearthly beauty of old growth forrest, the trees and rock face covered in variously colored lichen and moss.
I could have stood in one place, turned 360 degrees either direction and found a treasure trove of photographic subjects beyond my wildest dreams. From macro shots of symbiotic plant life to vistas that stretched from Oregon across the river to the foothills of the mountain ranges of Washington. Autumn was in full swing and even as i stood and gazed across the expanse, leaves dropped and floated along with the wind revealing ever more of the world beyond.
But my destination was calling me with increasing volume which ebbed and flowed with each turn on the path. One minute i could hear a crash of water and at the next turn i thought maybe i had been mistaken it was so quieted by the surrounding plant life. And then the trail found it's way to the rushing creek of water and there was a bridge. It stood as if waiting for the arrival of a secret admirer, proudly presenting the diamond glitter of white water on all sides.
I truly felt like a very young child in the minutes that followed. I was ecstatic, full of joy at my discovery. I had had no real idea when i began climbing what i might find. Perhaps there was only a trickle of water down the ridge. Or maybe i would take a wrong turn and find no water at all. The sound was very loud in my ears, the water itself creating a ghost like mist upon the air. I was so delighted that i climbed right down off of that bridge in order to get close enough to get the water. I lay among the wet leaves and moss covered rocks with my camera propped on a branch and just took pictures. It was getting late and i had a long walk back so i knew i must act even while i wished only to stand and stare. It was a glorious experience! On that day i constantly talked aloud to myself as a friendly companion would with whom i was sharing a treasure map.
Now go, take a picture! And for my American visitors have a glorious day of giving thanks!
Love, Robin
