“Photographs are the reflection of untold stories, unseen beauties, unexpressed emotions, and the unheard songs of life.”
― Debasish Mridha
Life as I have mentioned in a previous blog or two is like a never-ending stream and we are but bubbles along for a brief ride in the currents of its endless flow. Sometimes events can stretch out over a period of time and cause a pause in what seemed like a smooth and wonderful ride, free from concern and with anticipated hope for more of the same.
But like that stream, life will inevitably run into a detour, a slow down, or maybe even a minor dam that stops that flow of creativity and perhaps our comfort and complacency. Those moments that cause the slowdown are perhaps what lead to greater discovery and insight into living a creative life.
The passing of my mother and of a dear friend has caused such a pause and has required some re-focusing on the true intent of being creative and making art. Renewing old friendships and even re-examining past life skills and their relevance to life now has also brought in some cases, a hard realization that I cannot make the past fit a now that is more fulfilling and encompassing.
The past, for me, has brought me to this point and now I need to be true to myself and those in my life who are so important in forming and encouraging my creative self. Family, friends, acquaintances, other artists, cause me to focus on what is most important on my journey. It’s a journey that is filled with wonder, sadness, joy, grief and as the quote above notes, “unexpressed emotions, and the unheard songs of life”, that are yet to be expressed, experienced and sung. And of art yet to be created and shared.
American Lily Images
The images above were made in a very short period of time. I have always wanted to photograph a water lily flower and was finally able to obtain one from a local pond. Once I cut the stalk of the flower it started to wilt. It was a very short ride home so I immediately went to work making images. I really wanted to use my view camera but the long exposure times would have made recording the images impossible as the flower was visibly wilting as I mentioned.
These are the resulting images from that short afternoon session. The final images were made 24 hours later as the flower continued to wilt and dry out. The session was reminiscent of my attempting to photograph the Capparis Spinosa when I was in Iraq. Those flowers would die before I could return to my billets and it was only by discovering some plants close to the billets, I was able to capture their brief and fleeting beauty.