Patterns -- or, Things Aren't Always What They Seem

One idea that has always fascinated me in photography is what I call 'patterns'. These are bits of nature that I like to look at with a different eye -- an eye for the natural patterns that are formed by nature if we choose to see them.

I find that life is that way too. Something I've learned through studying Buddhism is that whatever it is we seek, we often already have in our lives. The trick is that we have to open our eyes and heart and mind and look at that object, or emotion, or state of mind with a different eye. We can go for days, weeks, years looking everywhere for something we already have. Often, we never open our eyes enough to see what is before us -- or if we do, it's too late. The time has passed.

These photographs represent that same scenario to me. There is a beauty and symmetry in nature that is unsurpassed. None of these photos are staged, all are scenes I've found simply by being out in nature with an open mind and eye. The creeks and logs and lakes and such are always there. What makes them special in one fleeting moment is the changing nature of all things -- lighting, rainfall, seasons -- and an eye that was open to seeing.

This photo was taken in one of my favorite places on earth -- the Slickrock/Joyce Kilmer Wilderness in North Carolina. I hope to see it again soon. This was simply a short bit of fallen log spanning a tiny rivulet. It wasn't more than one or two steps across, but the lighting caught my eye, along with the colors, and then nature provided more interest with the fast-moving water.

I don't remember specifically where this photo was taken, although it was definitely in Georgia or North Carolina. It's just a tiny, lichen-covered twig fallen upon fresh, spring-green ferns in the forest. It was the colors, contrasts and patterns that appealed to me here. Nature's beauty doesn't have to be large to be spectacular. We simply need to look deeper.

I do remember where I took this one! There is a trail in Northeast Georgia that leads to the exact place where Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina meet, deep in the woods. I was there on a rainy spring day and found this very large natural wall, richly and deeply covered with green moss and simply dripping with rivulets of water. This is a tiny section of the wall -- I really do like close-up photography!

This is one of my favorites, although it rarely seems to speak to others. I was hiking with a group in the Sierra Nevada and found a small, still lake that reflected the sky and trees and blended nicely with the lilipads and old stump.

Next time you're seeking something -- whatever it is -- try looking at what's before you with a different eye, and you just may discover that what you seek has been right in front of you all along.