Trees mesmerize me. Always have. What's your "original" inspiration?
I do love water and the reflections and refractions it makes.
But trees... They're the mirror I think I see myself in most, whenever I'm wandering about with my camera.
Fall Dock
Miller Lake, Dacula, GA
November, 2016
Then again, there's always trees AND water--my absolutely FAVORITE subject.
This image shot two years ago with my Nkion D710, long before I knew how to get the most out of it I could, will be a National Wildlife Federation Holiday greeting card this year.
All because I was fascinated with this dock in a local lake, surrounded by fall trees set on fire by the last rays of a setting sun.
I figured out how to capture this moment, because I refused to give up. This is the second or third night I tried. Everyone walked on by. I'm crouching in the woods, actually, on the other side of the lake at a vantage point you don't have from the path. You have to work to find a way down to this particular spot, and you have to be there at just the right time to catch the light this way. I assure you, I at the time didn't know how to make the camera do this in less under ideal circumstances.
I simply had to record the moment.
Half and Half
Nantahala National Forest
October, 2018
Here, on the side of a busy highway winding through the North Carolina mountains, I felt as if I'd discovered what a tree might look like cut in half.
It's actually two trees, the first leafless with the vibrant colors of the tree behind viable through the bare branches in the foreground.
But doesn't appear something like a head of cauliflower cut open so that you can see the center? That's what I'm hoping you'll see at any rate.
That and the absolute riot of fall hues that most of us simply drive by without much of a second glance.
Spring Forward
Miller Lake, Daucla, GA
Spring, 2017
And this one, the same lake and the other side of the dock above, is actually a Spring shot.
Did you know that budding trees take on the same hues as their fall counterparts, when you catch them early enough before the leaves shoot out?
I feel overwhelming gratitude for the chance to shoot this amazing metamorphosis.
Overlook
Road to Highlands, NC
Fall, 2017
You see, there's nothing "everyday" about trees in my book.
I could stop and stare at them all day.
Kaleidoscope
Miller Lake, Dacual, GA
Fall 2016
And it would be my great honor if you found yourself doing the same from now on, after spending a passing moment with my images.
My "original" inspiration, something a simple as the perfection of a tree could transform your world--if I do my job well enough and it finds a way into your reality.
That's the message I work hard to convey with every Affirmation Photography™ image I create--that nature is the source of bottomless healing, if we'd only allow it the renew us.
What message does your "go-to" imagery release into the world, making our reality better for your creative place in it.
Whatever that healing space is, I applaud and hope you find a magnificent opportunity to share it today!
Rainbow Road
Miller Lake, Dacual, GA
Fall 2016