another b & w

As I have said in previous posts “my camera goes with me always.”  This particular Sunday morning I drove to Bond’s Lake Park in Niagara County, NY. I stopped on the Tuscarora Indian Reservation to buy gas and then drove by the lake. This is not an unusual trip for me as I can often count on there not being many, if any people at the park this early.

Dark skies, the sound of geese honking and fish jumping coupled with a soft rain and lack of a human presence other than mine made this a very special and meditative time. It is easy for me to get lost in such a scene especially when everything around me in society appears to be in chaos. It is nature that helps keep me centered and focused.

One of my favorite nature authors John Burroughs said it best. In his book of essays titled, “The Art of Seeing Things” John said, “The art of seeing things is not something that may be conveyed in rules and precepts; it is a matter of vital in the eye and ear, yea, in the mind and soul, of which these are the organs.”

This photo I took last winter during one of my snowshoe hikes at Bond’s Lake Park. I saw the lines of the orchard and just started snapping photos. I love the way the branches look as they remain covered with their leaves. Snow added to the leaves provided an ethereal look, of course my choice of Photoshop filter added to the ghostly image.

When I leave the safety of my house and put on my backpack I leave society behind. There is no music, no sound other than what is provided by nature. The sound of birds rejoicing in the solace they too understand. Sticks breaking under the weight of the hiker’s snowshoe, the sound of one’s breath as I exert myself climbing a small hill. The sound the wind makes when it passes through the upward reaching branches of a stand of pine trees. The sound of the same trees as they sway to the beat of the wind as it stirs them to life. The sound of raindrops as they hang onto the branch they briefly called home before falling to earth and become another step in the cycle of life. The sound of snow as it crunches beneath my boot scaring any animals hiding nearby into flight. The sight of my breath as it rises as smoke from a smoke stack, assures me I am still alive. The smells of nature are also unmistakable. When I pass through a large stand of pins trees the smell of pine becomes overwhelming. The smell after it has just rained is intoxicating.

These are the memories I take with me when I reenter the world and go about my day. These are the memories I wish to share with you, my reader so you have an opportunity to glimpse my life and understand the importance of “stopping to smell the roses.” It is these vivid memories that I also wish to make and convey to the brides and grooms whose lives I have been allowed to photograph as they grow and emerge as new, as one being from two.

I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I have enjoyed making them. I hope they provide you with a similar feeling of peace and tranquility. If you enjoy then, please leave me a comment below.