Monday, January 25, 2010

Nature And Nothing Else


What do we see when we look up in the sky? Is it bare branches on a gloomy winter's day? Maybe it's a fun pattern that the trees make as the branches come together. I think I see both. I also see signs of life. What do you see?

If you take a close look at these tree branches you'll see several small clumps of material throughout the trees. Some of those clumps are just old leaves that just haven't fallen for whatever reason. But others are nests for animals. There are bird's nests high in the trees. And some of the bigger nests closer to the trunks belong to squirrels.

I remember when I took this picture. I was standing in the very center of the forest. By sheer chance, I looked up to the sky. There I saw what looked to be a perfect pattern of the trees converging together, with an opening to the sky in the center. I thought of nothing else. I imagined no fantasy in my mind. It was only that natural beauty that dominated my thoughts.


As I sat in front of my computer looking at that picture, I thought of the wild patterns of massive lightning bolts, so on a whim I decided to produce a negative image of the same photo. There was no more reason than that.

That's what that picture inspires in me. It's a thought that doesn't make it as far as becoming words. It's just an indescribable feeling. Something deep down beneath all of my logic. I never really try to explain it to myself. I just do what the feeling says. No thoughts, just action.

Nature. Nothing else.

16 comments:

  1. What an awesome shot! I agree that it needs no words; at times like those I usually can't find exactly the right ones anyway :o)

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  2. I love these photos! They do remind me of lighting!

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  3. When your imagination run wild, you see many possibilities.

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  4. When I first saw this picture, I thought it looked like a star or a snowflake. And you're right, the negative DOES look like lightening. Thanks, as always, for sharing your vision with us :) A walk in the woods always does me good.

    Happy Monday,
    Jen

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  5. Those are really neat pictures. You could come with all kinds of things that it looks like by using your imagination. Well done.

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  6. I really like both photos a lot!! A great example of how photos become art--kudos!

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  7. I love the way your worded that and I know exactly what you mean. Sometimes when I'm out for a walk and just looking around there is no way to describe the feeling.
    That negative of the tress is awesome. What an interesting pattern

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  8. Loved the negative version of this photo....looks like you captured all of the trees inner energy...wondeful!

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  9. Those shots are really true beauty as you describe. I love the naked trees. They are showing their inner beauty.

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  10. Great photos Ratty, you know I love the tree branches against the sky. The negative version does look like lightning.

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  11. I love what you have done with the photo...winter is a desolate time and the negative of the photo really brings this out!!

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  12. How interesting, Ratty, the difference in the two photographs. The negative gives a total eerieness to the picture.

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  13. A fantastic photo. You make something common look incredible by capturing it from an unusual angle.

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  14. Wow, the first pic is amazing Ratty. They look like their pointing to the heavens or paving the way.

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  15. Ratty, I see life reaching up for the skies and wanting to grab hold of the sun. Fantastic shots!

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