Sunday, October 19, 2008

A Word is Worth a Thousand Pictures

There are days when the camera is better left behind; days when it is better to see with the eyes, than through a lens.

In The Forest

The day was cold and crisp, and the sun was hiding away behind a cover of clouds. I had been out into the forest just days before, late in the afternoon with the sun low and the shadows playing. I tried to capture the forest then, and to some extent I did, but her true glory remained elusive to my eyes until this day.

I was struck by a light that emanated from deep within the forest. The light shimmered, and as I walked closer, it began to multiply as thousands of leaves formed a canopy that was spun in 24 carat gold. In obeisance, lower layers of reds and oranges faced the golden tree, fanning her royal branches with gentle breezes that could not be felt with human skin. Rebellious though complimentary, flashes of green, those last holdouts in the golden age of this arboreal society, made their statement of attempt to remain what they have been, though they too will change, and they too, will fall.

I didn't capture what I saw into digital perpetuity. Am I to be faulted for this?

4 comments:

R S said...

Thank you for letting me "see" this wonderful scene not only through your poetic eyes but also through mine.
Thanks to Gaia for surprising us with these magical images when we take the time to pay attention.
Thanks to Fall for the beautiful display before going to sleep for the Winter.
R S

Catherine Vibert said...

Thank you so much for your post RS, I'm glad it communicated because I went back into the forest today, and I don't know if I can get the angle just right, so perhaps it is better left to words.

qualcosa di bello said...

no, definitely not. we need to just "be" sometimes, leaving behind the "doing", even those things we so love to do.

Catherine Vibert said...

qualcosa di bello, I agree, and I purposely leave my camera behind, especially when the light is high and bright. It is a good time to just 'feel' where I am, and if it's a good place to shoot pictures, I can always come back with my camera when the light is good. Also, I find when I have my camera I get less exercise, I'm too busy behind my lens to walk. :-)

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