The Forest of the Ancients

The Forest of the Ancients

How big is a Redwood, exactly?  “Really stinkin’ big”, is the answer.  Even these guys, which definitely are not anywhere near the biggest ones we saw that day, were still huge.  And full of texture.  And light was just so beautiful…you other photographers know what I mean here.  I swear I must have stopped every 5 minutes and just stared, mouth open, taking it all in.

Nothing reminds you of how much you’re part of something larger than yourself and your day-to-day worries than standing among the giants.

If you’re the sort who loves to feel the calm that comes along with walking through a bright forest, I recommend finding a way to see the redwoods.  If you’re the sort who appreciates the power and beauty of Mama Earth, I recommend finding a way to see the redwoods.

If you’re the sort who hasn’t yet discovered the peace, the calm, the awe and the majesty of those things…I highly recommend you find a way to see the redwoods.  It is a unique and powerful experience.  The only thing I can equate it to is the way I feel looking at a truly dark sky, where you can really see how many stars look down on us at night.  We are tiny fish in a gigantic universe of a pond.  Not at all insignificant, just part of a much bigger picture than most people think about on a daily basis.

Oh…and lastly, if you’re the sort of person who likes to go places and take selfies….well…you should probably find yourself some redwoods. 😉

Redwoods Papparazzi-Selfie courtesy of David Pasillas Photography

For my FB friends…and those of you who are about to become my Facebook friends (eh? eh? Nudge nudge? Wink Wink?), here is a gift for you! 🙂  I took this image with a FB banner in mind, thinking it would be cool to feature these giants as a header to my page.  I often shoot with purpose when I see a scene that intrigues me.  For a little more info about that, go here…it’s just another item on the mental checklist for those of you looking to make use of your images after they’re processed.

The Ancients Banner

The Creative Juices

The Redwood Trail

Contrary to popular belief, writing this blog isn’t always easy.  I mean…even I can’t be witty and eloquent all of the time! So when writer’s block strikes, I’m faced with a choice.  Put up a post with just a photo, or ask for help.  Lucky for me, I have a great pool of photo friends to talk shop with, and they’re an excellent source of creativity and inspiration.

When I started thinking about this week’s post…or rather, started drawing a blank about this week’s post, I sent out a text to a few of my photo-friends scattered across the country for ideas and input.  It basically said, “If you were a blog post containing a pretty photo of redwoods and a waterfall, taken at Limekiln in Big Sur, California…what would you be about?”

One of the ideas I got back, from Will of www.wheretowillie.com, was to talk about how spectacular the sights can be, even within the boundaries of our own country.  Winner, winner chicken dinner!  It’s so true.  I’ve always been one to advocate the joys of local shooting.  I saw a great quote the other day…”It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” – Henry David Thoreau.  It struck me as a great phrase.  My own state of Connecticut has rarely been high on a photographer’s “To Visit” list, and yet with a little exploration, I’ve found there are so many great things to discover.

So…let’s follow my line of thinking for a second, shall we?
1)      Ask friends for ideas to show my writer’s block who is boss
2)      Get a super awesome suggestion to expound upon
3)      Think more about writer’s block…!!??!!  Yeah, that’s totally what I did.

Thinking about how to build on Will’s idea reminded me of a conversation Sean, my “English Graduate” boyfriend had with his “Going Back For His Radiology Degree Friend”.  They were discussing a writing assignment in which the student was asked to analyze the evolution of their writing abilities/papers over the course of the semester.  The English Graduate brought up the point that most of the time, our education only encourages creative thinking to a certain point.  To support his theory, he talked about how most teachers give you the freedom to expound upon an idea, but the topic is of their choosing.  The initial idea – the starting point for creative thinking – was out of the student’s sphere of control.

So how does that relate to writer’s block and creativity?

Well, it occurred to me that in life, that initial moment of inspiration is often the most difficult to come by.  I thought back over my time as an artist in every medium I’ve dabbled in – photography, writing, painting, drawing – and I relished the moments of true inspiration, where an idea simply occurred to me and I went with it.  More often than not though, I suspect those moments are drawn off of the works of other creatives, whether we realize it or not.  We live in a data-soaked society, now more than ever with the internet making everything so accessible.  We are surrounded by the images, words and thoughts of all of the creatives in across the world with the ability to share them.

So I wonder…have American education systems conditioned us to that moment of writer’s block?  Because once I had a suitable topic, the words flowed.  It was that initial moment of inspiration that eluded me.  And more importantly, how do we combat such conditioning?  How do we cultivate the culture of creative thinking?

I guess blogging is a good start. 😉  Just some food for thought, friends.  Tell me what you think!