Standing Tall-Niska Trail

Standing Tall-Niska Trail
Originally uploaded by Alan Norsworthy

These days when I walk the trails I find myself being drawn to the words of the North American elders.

They understood this planet we call home

They revered all things

They found peace and harmony out there.

When the first explorers arrived they found “a pristine untouched wilderness”. Little did they know it had been inhabited for thousands of years by the “Indian”.and as Bill Mason reflected..

"So the first white man arrives in North America and he looks out over the land and he calls it a pristine untouched wilderness. That's got to be the greatest compliment that anyone could pay to the native peoples that had lived here for thousands of years....and it's still possible to catch a glimpse of what that wilderness used to be..... and I think that the best way to do that is in a canoe, the most beautiful and functional craft ever created.", Bill Mason - from the film "Waterwalker"

So as I walk I think of these things. All things are connected, all things have a life, a spirit and we are part of that whole.

Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.
~ Chief Seattle'

As I sit and watch the news, flooding, tornadoes, storms that seem to be getting bigger and stronger by the day, I wonder at what we have done. Mother Nature will only tolerate so much before she protects herself ....

Splendor in the Grass - Guelph

Splendor in the Grass - Guelph
Originally uploaded by Alan Norsworthy

This morning I went on journey, I walked one thousand Kilometers in the company of hundreds, traveled back in time a thousand years all without leaving the house.

Let me explain..

On the advice of a friend I 'googled' Peter Coffman and discovered not only photographs but a place.

A place where only the pilgrims and the seekers go. Its not a place per se because it encompasses many, many places and 2 countries its the long walk, the “Camino de Santiago”

http://www.petercoffman.com/?albumid=1

I found music there interwoven with the words and photographs.

The music was written, played and recorded along the trail by Oliver Schroer. He played in small churches and cathedrals alike wherever the spirit moved him. (pardon the pun)

Hauntingly beautiful music as only a lone fiddle can make.

As Peter says …

“ The violin sings, the stones sing back. The notes and the space embrace as if they have been waiting for this meeting all their lives. The man stops playing, but the notes keep going, unwilling to give this moment up.”

http://www.oliverschroer.com/about/camino_journal.html

They are the sounds of a journey, a pilgrimage yes but not necessarily a search for god but a search for oneself

On the morning of July 3rd, 2008, after a long battle with leukemia, Oliver Schroer passed away at Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto.

As my friend said “why is it that the good people die young” I ask myself the same question....

Splendor in the Grass - Guelph

Splendor in the Grass - Guelph
Originally uploaded by Alan Norsworthy

Having had a bit of a hiatus as my wife recovers from her surgery I stole a bit of 'me time' this weekend and went for a walk with friends.
The weatherman was threatening rain and the mosquitoes were out in force but we went anyway. 

A late change of venue saw us walking the trails along the Eramosa River here in Guelph. Stopping and starting, lagging behind, moving on, as something caught our attention but lots of banter and laughter along the way.
As Patrick commented "Seeing the sight in all its reality and then your image! Incredible fun of how we all interpret things differently, see things (how) others see things". When I took the photograph my comment to Patrick was "that one is destined for black and white" ...

This exposure to the scene and seeing the final result as others see makes every outing a learning experience and begs the thought 'where was I when he did/saw that'? It makes us look or should I say 'feel' more intently.

I have been reading a great deal recently of what I would call the Zen of photography, feeling instead of seeing, opening one's mind to the possibilities and waiting for the moment to arrive before pressing the shutter.

This way of seeing was first introduced to me in a workshop put on by Doug Wilson in Killarney/LaCloche last fall. Its amazing how those seeds he planted are growing into a new way of seeing, a new way of photographing the world...

A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense, and is, thereby, a true expression of what one feels about life in its entirety. ~Ansel Adams

Marsh Light - Burns Conservation Area

Marsh Light - Burns Conservation Area
Originally uploaded by Alan Norsworthy

This last week I have rode the roller coaster of emotional turmoil, my wife Cathy underwent Open Heart surgery to repair some damage.

Having to give up everything you hold dear into the hands of strangers is one of the most frightening things I have ever done.
“Blind trust” is an easy concept to grasp but not so easy to do but thankfully everything worked out.
Hiding my fears from Cathy so as not to make her own fears worse was almost as difficult.

I would like to take a moment to say ‘Thank You’ to Dr Ash and the whole team at St.Mary’s Hospital in Kitchener for your skills, patience and dedication to helping to make this week bearable.
Dr Ash’s skill is truly amazing yet he caries the responsibilities of his trade with such a casual aire, a true gentleman.

Taking another moment to tell our family and friends who have been by our sides unobtrusively this week,sending silent wishes and healing thoughts our way.
Know that all of you helped and know that I realise that we are truly blessed, and grateful.
In hours of weariness, sensations sweet,
Felt in the blood, and felt along the heart;
And passing even into my purer mind,
With tranquil restoration:—feelings, too,
Of unremembered pleasure: such, perhaps,
As have no slight or trivial influence
On that best portion of a good man's life,
His little, nameless, unremembered acts
Of kindness and of love....
~William Wordsworth, 1798

Ancient Grove - Burns Conservation Area

Ancient Grove - Burns Conservation Area
Originally uploaded by Alan Norsworthy

I have had a few conversations this week concerning patience. I don’t mean ‘road rage’ kind of patience I mean the patience to produce a better photograph.

It started with a comment about my recent trip to Algonquin. On the Saturday morningPatrick asked if we could stay a while in an area I had shown him.
We were there all day..

My comment was made to fellow photographer Gregg and he asked if I had read the article “The Art of Patience” by Jil Ashton-Leigh

You can find it here:

http://clicks.robertgenn.com/disappearing-blue.php

I got me thinking about how little time we devote to understanding and getting to know an area.

In this fast paced world where instant gratification has become the norm it is all to easy to fall into the trap. I think that we have such a small amount of time available to us to pursue our hobby that we try to make the most of it by capturing everything of interest. Instead of dedicating the time we have on producing the best image we can.

To do that we have to understand our subject and that takes patience.

Slow down, sit, think and observe. Watch the shadows and light play across the landscape before you. Try to understand what you are looking at and try to figure out what attracted you to the scene in the first place.

Last Fall I took a workshop with Doug Wilson, it is only now that I am really starting to understand what he was saying and it is the same thing, have the patience to let the land speak to you.

Only then pick up the camera.

Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Forest Floor Detail - Arboretum

Forest Floor Detail - Arboretum
Originally uploaded by Alan Norsworthy

I have struggled to put thoughts into words this weekend.

This morning I remember yesterday and I think of the pleasure of the company of a few like minded friends as we wandered in the woods seeking the wildflowers of spring.

To make the time to laugh and talk of simple things.

To kneel or lay in the soft humus and tilth that once were leaves and plants and breath in the fragrance and care not about dirty knee’s

I thank them for helping me unwind, I thank them for letting me be me and in return give them, and you, a poem by Lewis Carroll:

Lewis Carroll, 1832-1898.
SOLITUDE

I love the stillness of the wood:
I love the music of the rill:
I love to couch in pensive mood
Upon some silent hill.
Scarce heard, beneath yon arching trees,
The silver-crested ripples pass;
And, like a mimic brook, the breeze
Whispers among the grass.
Here from the world I win release,
Nor scorn of men, nor footstep rude,
Break in to mar the holy peace
Of this great solitude.
Here may the silent tears I weep
Lull the vexed spirit into rest,
As infants sob themselves to sleep
Upon a mother's breast.
But when the bitter hour is gone,
And the keen throbbing pangs are still,
Oh, sweetest then to couch alone
Upon some silent hill!
To live in joys that once have been,
To put the cold world out of sight,
And deck life's drear and barren scene
With hues of rainbow-light.
For what to man the gift of breath,
If sorrow be his lot below;
If all the day that ends in death
Be dark with clouds of woe?
Shall the poor transport of an hour
Repay long years of sore distress;
The fragrance of a lonely flower
Make glad the wilderness?
Ye golden hours of Life's young spring,
Of innocence, of love and truth!
Bright, beyond all imagining,
Thou fairy-dream of youth!
I'd give all wealth that years have piled,
The slow result of Life's decay,
To be once more a little child
For one bright summer-day

Bloodroot

Bloodroot
Originally uploaded by Alan Norsworthy

Most people who know me know that Spring is not my most favourite time of year.
Yet it does hold its attractions; Yesterday was one of those days when the air was warm, the breeze cool enough to be comfortable and the woods filled with the sounds of bird song and the scent of wildflowers.

Hard to resist ... luckily I had arranged to visit my friend Grant at his new home not far from here.
His new home lay a mere 50 yards away from endless trails and endless possibilities (and endless blackflies but they were a mere inconvenience and quickly ignored). because the woods were covered with carpets of trillium, pillows of bloodroot and trout lilies, the air filled with sweet scents that made you breath deep.

It was almost enough to make me forget that Spring is not my favourite time.

Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy the seasons as they change. Each one brings it’s own special statement and spring is quite a magical time for as the earth thaws green sprouts work their way upwards towards the warming sun and burst into a riot of colours and fragrance. Time is short for them and they must fulfil their destiny quickly before the tree’s leaf out and cover the forest floor in shade.
A scant few weeks and it’s all over but while it’s here opportunities for photographs abound so you will find me with dirt covered knees as I crawl around with my face in the dirt and happy..

“And Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast
rose from the dreams of its wintry rest”.
~Percy Bysshe Shelley, "The Sensitive Plant"