Descend Into A Visual Journey

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then I choose the lens as my pen. Come on a visual adventure with me and see the beauty of this world through different eyes… one picture at a time.

If you are a nature and wildlife enthusiast like myself, then you well know the peace and tranquility that nature imparts like no other.

There is an inner calm, an unuttered serenity that one can only find in nature. It is a peaceful transcendence that descends upon you, envelops you; it embraces you. It calms the restlessness within your soul.

This feeling is something I have always found only while in nature… whether meandering solo on a hidden, less-traveled path deep within a mature old-growth forest or sitting quietly by a riverbank. It is a feeling that is uncluttered, simple, pure. It’s honest and raw; it’s real.

Walking among giant ferns, listening to birds chattering in the towering canopies overhead, looking up and watching rays of light struggle to peek through, you tend to lose yourself and realize just how small you really are.

There is no need for conversation or words here. There is no place for cell phones; there’s no desire for music pounding in your ears. You wouldn’t hear it anyway.

Here, there is a beat far greater than anything you will ever experience at the other end of some electronic device. It’s a beat, a pulsing like no other… it is a beat not unlike the rhythm of your heart. You will hear it pounding in your ears, but more importantly, you will feel it in your soul. It’s called life… and I mean, really living. This is the one and only place you will ever feel truly free.

Whether I am scrambling over boulders and climbing up crevices, shimmying up the trunk of a massive tree, or traversing some feral river that is screaming and howling with power… I can tell you that THESE are the moments I live for.

When I am standing at the edge of a sheer precipice looking down into a bottomless gorge, or jumping off a rock into a dark abyss 40 feet down and 70 feet deep, on a moonless night, waiting for that breathless moment when you hit the obsidian water… This is where I feel the true adrenaline rush.

There’s a feeling that comes with it: heightened senses, heightened awareness. You can breathe deeper, see more clearly, feel every minuscule sensation that otherwise would be lost.

Your body finds its own beat, your own rhythm, as your heart pulses within your chest. There’s a drumming in your head that drowns out all other distractions. It’s an exhilaration, a rush to the head like no other, in a way that the prison walls of concrete and pavement, four walls and a roof, or being chained and imprisoned to some detached autonomous electronic device could never bring.

When I am out there, my heart races, my pulse quickens, and I can use all five senses at once. THESE are the moments that I am truly alive!

It’s true. Nature is my one true addiction. Rushing rivers, glacier peaks, remote destinations… give me a backpack, a canoe and a couple hundred square miles of untouched pristine wilderness [with a nice river running through it!].

This is the one place I am truly happy, the one place I find true peace. It is the only place where I am genuinely comfortable in my own headspace.

Here, I am free and unfettered.

Free to think; free to feel; free to write; free to draw or paint; free to create… without the unspoken boundaries of or dotted lines of society, or opinions and thoughts. Here, I only hear one voice… a voice inspired by nature.

And, sure, there’s all the science behind it. Those extra electrons really do a number on us… in a good way! It’s no surprise that those extra electrons are found among the most beautiful places in nature: waterfalls, the ocean, and right before and after storms. Perhaps that’s why I have an affinity for all three.

One thing is for sure. Nature has been the one constant in my life, through all space and time. If my entire world were in chaos, nature is the one thing that grounds me. I have always been able to find beauty and solace in nature, regardless of what is going on in my day-to-day world. Even if my world is spinning out of control, like some little whirligig, when I am feeling slightly off my axis… Nature will bring me back from the edge to a place of balance.

It never fails me. It has always been able to transport me in time, rewind the clock, and take me back to a simpler time: a time when pine needles perfumed the air; when wet damp leaves brought with it the muffled acoustics of softened footsteps on the forest floor; when nebulous and starry bejeweled skies gave way to an indigo twilight horizon, and the crescent moon pinned with a star would rise in the east as the forest blinked the morning mist from its eyes.

Oh, how that syzygy, that April crescent Venus moon still haunts! I think we all at times reach back to a moment in our life when everything in the world was aligned.

In nature, I have found comfort in times of need. I have found pleasant memories when I want to reach back. I have found a way to look forward, at times. I have found a place to escape or at least hide from the world for a while. I have found the adrenaline rush that I crave in the here and now.

I will say that it can be an oxymoron at times.

Staring into the sheer power of an ominous cascading waterfall can send my heart racing, my adrenaline into overtime!It’s exhilerating!

At other times, getting lost behind some hidden waterfall or sitting on an old log deep within an old growth forest, can make you feel as if you are the only person on the planet. It can restore the spirit, balance the mind, and calm the restlessness that can come in waves like the tide.

I crave this kind of solitude, the simplicity of this stillness. It’s the only thing that dispels the restless spirit and quells the cynicism that creeps in from the corners at times, living in this way-too-urban concrete jungle of madness and chaos.

The beauty of the natural world that surrounds and its awe-inspiring landscapes… the diversity, the mind-blowing science behind it all… I am star-struck and spellbound by her. Her majesty holds me in awe each and every day. From the epic landscapes, majestic mountains, and cascading waterfalls among fjords in Norway, to the smallest one-celled organisms that can carry on as the most complex organisms do… I am a willing and captive audience always.

By embracing her, immersing myself in her every chance I get, by always striving to learn more about her… this is how I survive, this is the only way I keep my sanity, even while living in a way-too-urban environment.

Of course, we don’t all have the ability to drop what we are doing and jump on a plane or drive a few hours (okay, for me, it would be more like 6-8 hours! I feel like I live on an island!) and walk along a beautiful ridge-top trail deep within the forest or go trail running next to a river to clear your head. I lived in a place like that once, and it’s not something I will ever take for granted.

Presently, I live in a very urban environment, and I am not always able to travel. Therefore, I have had to get creative to find and hang on to any shred of the peace and solitude I once knew. But if it’s one thing I have come to realize…  it is this truth.

Whether you are hiking a glacier peak in Norway, or simply stepping out into your own backyard, we are all surrounded by beauty each and every day. You just have to remember to stop and look.

Take notice of the little things: a bird perched on a branch, feathers fluffed, neck stretched out in full song; the mingled scent of pine and damp earth as you walk through the forest on a blanket of leaves; a molten sunset, emblazoning the horizon with indigo and purple hues, dancing across the sky in a dramatic tango; the loving touch of a family member, or a genuine smile that lifts your spirits.

Get out there… explore your world, and find your own beauty! Find your peace. Connect with the natural world around you.

Never stop looking…

Always wander…

Mission Statement:

I have built this website to share the beauty I have found in this world. I hope it inspires you to take a walk outside and find the beauty in your own little piece of the universe. Whether you feel the sunshine on your face or snow on your eyelashes, raindrops on your cheeks or the howling wind of a summer storm, get out there and just remember to look up!

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