Yesterday I was supposed to be in Canada on a motorcycle trip to celebrate a friend’s birthday. I chose to stay behind to attend another friend’s funeral instead.
I ended up appreciating the gift of time in my studio as I worked on selecting images for a show I will be hanging next week at the Helix Winery Tasting Room in downtown Spokane.
Searching through my library of images I came across this image I had taken last year on my return from Canada. I was crossing Kootenay lake on the ferry from Balfour and the sun was at a remarkable angle and shining brightly on the water.
I intentionally underexposed the image to reveal the magic of sun and water. I had already burned the sky down to where it looked really dark so that the starburst was revealed and it seemed like a layer that needed stars and the milky way. Since I had recently made a digital composite with a milky way photo the other day I decided to use it in this image too. It fit my mood as I was seeking to find images that had an element of magic in them which is what I often feel when I am deep into the forest or on the water.
I was happy with the image as it was. As I looked for more images I began thinking about my upcoming sailing trip and went searching for images from previous excursions. I found this beautiful silhouette of a sailboat and had the shazam moment of creative inspiration. I cut out the sailboat and added it to my Kootenay lake image. I thought about navigating by the stars and how life is made meaningful by being able to recognize the beauty that surrounds us and the risks that are inherent in our daily adventures of living.
Thinking about all of this as I composed this digital art reminded me of a lecture I watched by Sapna Reddy who is a fantastic landscape photographer and a medical doctor. She talked about the gift of being a photographer because it puts you into a position where you can soak in the miracles.
I think she is right. Becoming aware of the beauty that surrounds us is one way of seeing miracles.
Peace,
Ira