This site, for me is a surprise of creative beauty that I could never have imagined. It seems to come out of nowhere and everywhere at the same time. I didn’t go looking for it, I didn’t set out to ‘take photographs’, I didn’t have it anywhere in my consciousness and yet here it is and I’m as astounded as I am grateful.
My journey with photographs started consciously in 2020 when I was travelling in Italy with my husband during the pandemic. My journey with me started consciously in 2008 when, during a six month period, my life did an incredible shift. I went through a period where I felt as though at every step, a rug was being pulled away from underneath me and I went into an emotional free fall. Not particularly pretty but worth it. All of a sudden, my past wasn’t what I thought it was, my future wasn’t going to be as thought it would be and my present was…..tricky. That’s another story for another page but what this all led to was India which little by little led to peace and to this creative expression.
Life pre-India, India and post-India. What a gift, the whole thing. No matter how confusing, how challenging, India gave me the gift of emotional tsunamis day after day, all of which I asked for and welcomed and the result is this. A site of beauty. They say that the outer world is a reflection of your inner world and I can tell you, that it went from extremely messy to beautifully peaceful. Not just like that of course, it takes…..I’m not keen on the word ‘work’ for that but for me it’s taken a lot of personal mythological journeys and every single one was worth it and still is. I’m glad to say that the journeys are a lot less tsunami’esque now and the reflection I’m seeing, is quite simply amazing and breathtaking and one that I never take for granted. I like the reflection I see now and I’m grateful for the experience of the other.
I walk with my camera/phone in my pocket, no agenda, no looking for, I just walk. Then something subtly changes, it’s kind of a whisper, a slight change in the vibration, as if something’s calling. I look, I see, I get my phone out, point, zoom or not, black and white or not and then I click. From my experience it’s this, beauty is wanting to be captured and shared. When I search, there’s nothing, when I just walk, there’s everything and when it wants to been seen, it’s palpable. In fact, it’s the easiest thing I’ve ever done. I’m simply following what’s being presented and not actually ‘doing’ anything. Gone are the days of competitive energy, trying to achieve, be seen, be good enough – thank goodness. It was exhausting. This is energizing.
I know there’s a purpose about this which is far greater than me and than maybe I’ll ever understand and I love that. It’s none of my business really, and I say that with a smile on my heart. I’m playing my part of walking, feeling, hearing, seeing, clicking and sharing and everything else is totally taken care of. Whoever is meant to be here, will be here, whoever is meant to see or feel something, will and it’s nothing to do with me. Simplicity. Freedom.
So here I am, following a pull, never knowing what will occur and that’s totally cool.
Photos will be seen, photos will be bought, photos will be shared and thanks to nature gifting her beauty forward to me, I gift it forward to you and the money wealth that it creates, is gifted forward to Raven Trust and Cowichan Hospice. Gifting Forward – it’s community, it’s harmony, it’s love.
If you feel pulled to know more of my back story, it’s here for you to read and if you feel pulled to journey through the Botanical Garden of photography, please do. Either way, I’m grateful you’re here and I wish you the most beauty-filled day.