This image is literally and figuratively a calm and reflective moment. This is a moment of Quiet Stillness. I have used this term to describe my photography in the past. A Quiet Stillness is what I express in my photographs. They are images that provoke a sense of calm and appreciation for the viewer. But it was during the creation of this image that I became aware of what that means to me. Quiet Stillness is what I am looking to capture and convey with my photographs, but I realized that it is also a sensation I am seeking for myself when I set out to create images.
I managed to find and create this image, a mere stone's throw from utter chaos. This was the first image I spotted on my hike for the day. This scene was near the picnic area beside the trailhead, and this morning, a large school group of elementary students was running and screaming and doing what children do. To say it was quiet and peaceful would be a lie, but it was, for those children, a time of enjoyment, just as it was for me, all be it for a different reason.
At first, I thought they would be a distraction, a nuisance to my day, but once I started to concentrate on this photograph, I became blissfully unaware of the children very quickly. Their screams of happy joy faded into the background. I had become absorbed in the calm water, the colorful leaves, the reflections on the lake's surface, and the contrast of the bleached branch rising from the water. This was Quiet Stillness. There was nothing else for me, just the scene before me and my feeling of complete absorption in the image.
I had managed to preserve this moment of Quiet Stillness, and it wasn’t until I started back down the trail to see what else the woods had in store that I noticed the school kids again—running and laughing and screaming at one another. I realized that time had stopped for me. It was quiet and still. And that is what this image is about for me and why I create photographs. To celebrate the moments of Quiet Stillness.