Slow Photography # 60 Good Nature, Luminous Visions

   

GOOD NATURE

Many year ago, when the people we call Paleo-Indians settled in the Great Smoky Mountains, they enjoyed its natural beauty eons before it became a national park. Although they were hunters, these folks also foraged for wild plants. They knew the area intimately. 

Today, we can appreciate the visual gifts of the Smoky Mountains, just as intimately, with Slow Photography. To paraphrase Henry David Thoreau: "It's not what you look at that matters, but how slowly you see."

1. "Pollinator" : A one inch long tiger moth pollinates a flowering plant in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In the dappled shade, the bright white of the flower was luminous.

With flowing rivers, green forests and endless hiking paths, the Great Smokie Mountains area is a good-natured place. Gazing at its timeless mountains, we are all reminded to revere nature's gifts.

2. "Luminous Floater" : a petal floats on a pond.

 Photographer Ansel Adams put it this way: "The silver light turned every blade of grass and every particle of sand into a luminous metallic splendor."

These misty mountains are "older than the hills." They have sheltered life here for 300 million years, and there is no need to hurry to photograph them. Instead, we can stroll along, contemplating the shining light in their forests. We can bask in their good nature, photographing slowly with care.

Making photographs deliberately, I became aware of the luminous kind of light of which Adams spoke. It made objects shine forth from the darker spaces. It emerged from rock, tree and river.

3. "Light from Shade" : Shadows of trees near a river in the Trent area.

SLOW LUMINOUS VISIONS

When we are patient, we may experience the luminous. By the Trent river, water skeeters danced on the surface. To make sun stars, I set an aperture of F/22, a setting I seldom use, and saw that the lens added luminous diamonds on the tips of each skaters toes.

4. "Diamonds on the Soles" : A water skeeter in a calm river eddy.

It took a few moment to see this radiant light. First, I had to sit down, slow down, and just stare. Walking by, I would not have taken the time to think about how to create the diamond light sparkles to match the feeling I had inside about the light.

5. "Pebble Rock Face": an icy pool on the edge
of a creek in the Greenbriar area.

BOTTOM LINE: In nature, we can experience moments of luminous awareness.  We can photograph in nature, not for gain or ego, but as a form of private reverence. 

I appreciate your visit to Slow Photography
 Jim Austin Jimages

Special thanks to outdoor adventurer and master photographer Carl Shaw (Flickr Link) for inspiration, lodging in the Smokies, and for sharing his good nature.


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