“Oh my gosh, look at that moon!!”
That was what I exclaimed to myself the other morning while driving around in search of landscape photos.
I hadn’t expected to find such an enchanting moon. It was the tiniest sliver of cream floating whimsically in a rosy-purple eastern sky. The sun hadn’t yet crested the horizon, and thus it was still visible in all its amazing and diminutive glory.
If I wanted a picture of it I knew I had to act quickly because I knew as soon as the sun came up the wispy moon would disappear in the bright light. I was close to the town cemetery so I decided to park my car and hurry across the dew-drenched grass toward one of the cemetery’s most prominent markers. I knew exactly what picture I wanted to take.
In the dim hush of the pre-dawn I stopped, adjusted the camera settings and started shooting.
As I clicked the camera’s shutter I was completely lost in the brief and lovely moment — the moment soon to vanish.
Standing there in awe of the scene before me, I realized I had forgotten all about the things I was presently worried about. The usual troubles of life: burdens . . . bills . . . disturbing news headlines . . . the unexpected inconveniences that rear their ugly heads . . . the old, familiar annoyances that have hung around far too long.
In that moment all my cares had melted away, and I was completely at peace.
This is how you know you are doing what you are meant to do, I thought to myself. When a creative effort frees the soul and gives it purpose, you’re on the right track.
Although photography is definitely not my only creative effort or artistic pursuit, I have realized one of the things I love best about landscape photography is that I am creating art along with creation itself — creating with the ever changing face of nature. I never know what the sunset or sunrise will look like, or what the day’s weather will bring, or what new and breathtaking little miracle I will discover as I venture into the dawn or dusk, camera in hand.
Although I certainly am not the powerful force behind those dazzling colors in the sky or those dreamy, misty mornings, it is up to me how I choose to capture them, and up to me what I decide to include or discard. I can bring my little spark of creativity to the proverbial table and fashion something wonderful. I am part of a creative process with the clouds, the moon, the stars, the sun, the trees–the whole of this beautiful earth!–and I am continually dazzled, humbled and rejuvenated to be a part of it. I believe the best art comes from plugging into something bigger than ourselves and contributing our own unique vision while being a channel for its greatness. The process is truly exhilarating.
Below are some of my recent moments of creative bliss:
Thanks for looking and thank you for following my efforts and appreciating my art.
~Rebecca