Image of the Month, uh Quarter…

i had all good intentions of introducing a new section on my blog, image of the month, at the top of the year.  some unfortunate tech failures, a health scare and a brief hospital stay (yup, but i’m okay) left me quite depleted. add to the mix a snow filled winter that deemed much of what i’m most interested in shooting inaccessible and things slowed down alot here.

i can hardly believe what i’m about to say but if it wasn’t for my iPhone camera i do not know what i would have done! this is a first for me.

it kept me connected, albeit loosely, to my craft. to seeing. to noticing & recording beauty in the midst. and a little is better than none at all.

“The fog is rising…” Emily Dickinson

this was made on that crazy foggy afternoon here last week. i was dying to run around capturing it all but my body felt otherwise. i’m happy to have this one.

i’m not so inclined to photograph snowy scenes, however, shooting through my bedroom window is something i’ve been doing for awhile now. heck, i’m probably closing in on a whole series at this point.

“In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.”
Albert Camus

and now, the 1st installment of image of the month (uh, quarter) where the focus is on ‘why’ an image was made.

 

(please read in this art notes monthly-aug ’14 on how this 👆 evolved into 👇)

 

this image (above) is from the Life Among The Savages series. it was the first time i went toward a storm rather than away from, with or without my camera. i’ve always been afraid of thunderstorms and the camera was so comforting. yet to truly illuminate just how this image came into being, we really need to start with this one:

years ago i experienced a rather profound betrayal. blind-sided to say the least. honestly i didn’t feel i would survive it. i suppose that’s how many of us feel when faced with unthinkable circumstances. after discovering what had occurred i immediately jumped in my car and began driving. frantically. to nowhere. no plan. i came upon this entangled forest pulled the car over and began walking. i paced around for a couple of hours with both a primal angst and camera in tow. incredible how nature mirrored my internal landscape so vividly. this was the first image i made that day which ultimately became the seed concept for an entirely new series. in the end, “Mind F*ck”, didn’t make the final cut. during the editing process other images felt more compelling, less literal.

circling back now to “Life Among The Savages #5”, (above) the exact circumstances aren’t as clear yet i distinctly remember feeling enormous frustration & fear that day. by this time nature, my car and my camera had become my go to, powerful tools for coping, so i intentionally drove toward the foreboding sky. stepping out of the car i felt such awe in the presence of the swaying trees, thunder & the mighty winds that almost took me with them. it was at once exhilarating and alarming. the experience ultimately was palliative. making this image truly served as a neutralizer to these intolerable emotions.

i recently read an article that explored betrayal as a gateway to forgiveness. it’s soul affirming to realize that i have come out of that fire with forgiveness & love in my heart. it took years, mind you. now if i can only do that in other areas of my life.

please let me know in the comments below which particular image(s) you’d love to know more about so i can include it in a future “image of the month” installment. for ideas you can look in the galleries here & here. while you’re at it please feel free to leave any thoughts & comments.

the ability to make art while surrounded by such unsightliness and vulnerability… CLICK TO TWEET

thanks so much for being here!

cheers from

Save

28. February 2014 by shāna
Categories: chronic illness, image of the month, quotes | 2 comments