State of Mind – Weekly Photo Challenge
“The eye and the camera see more than the mind knows.”
Nathan Lyons
BOTSWANA SUNSET
This week Ben has asked us to dig into the archives to examine the alignment between our images and our mood at the time of their capture. Interestingly my mental state at the time of each of the photographs I’ve chosen from my travels was much the same. I felt elated and completely in tune with nature as I absorbed the incredible beauty of the world around us.
MOUNTAIN’S MAJESTY
“Looking at beauty in the world is the first step of purifying the mind.”
Amit Ray
Whether observing a herd of elephants kicking up dust after crossing a deep river in Botswana, marveling at the scale of brightly red-roofed homes at the base of the majestic Andes Mountains, or experiencing the calm of a mystical sunrise over Angkor Wat, nature’s power to move me never fails.
MORNING MIST, ANGKOR WAT
“The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.”
Plutarch
One cannot argue with the magnificence of the elephants, the majesty of the mountains or the mystic quality of Angkor Wat, but there is an equally powerful capacity in more simple scenes – the golden grasses of Scotland under deepening storm clouds…..
GOLDEN LIGHT, SCOTLAND
“The mind can go in a thousand directions, but on this beautiful path, I walk in peace. With each step, the wind blows. With each step, a flower blooms.”
Thich Nhat Hanh
…….or a beautiful sunset right in your own neighborhood.
KIAWAH SUNSET
“When the mind is exhausted of images, it invents its own.”
Gary Snyder
I have been fortunate to experience some of the most beautiful places the world has to offer. I remember distinctly the joy I felt as I walked a path through the verdant rice fields of the Dragon’s Backbone in Longsheng, China….
DRAGON’S BACKBONE
“It’s the mind that sees, not eyes.”
Toba Beta
….and the excitement of watching an iceberg calve in Glacier Bay, Alaska. One feels the heart expand as the eyes absorb the beauty and power of mother nature. Happiness fills the mind and feeds the soul.
CALVING, GLACIER BAY
“A composition is created in a wondrous interplay between imagination and reason, or between mind and reflection.
Jostein Gaarder
From the blue-white of trapped air within the glaciers, to the amazing colors of Roussillon’s ochre deposits, nature gifts us with scenery around which it is impossible NOT to be joyful.
ROUSSILLON REDS
“The mind is so powerful that is can suddenly grow wings of imagination and fly in the open sky.”
Debasish Mridha
Here’s hoping your week is filled with beautiful scenery and moments of joy.
To have a look into the mindsets of some other bloggers, click here.
Stunning images!
I love how you have expressed the feelings of joy, delight and amazement through these photographs, Tina. As photographers, we always aim to translate, as accurately as possible, our deepest emotions and state of mind into the images we make.. You’ve done an excellent job here.
Thanks very much Uday – always appreciate such a comment from someone with such mastery of the art!
Those are some really wonderful captures!
Thanks very mcuh!
Fabulous images and quotes, Tina. That last one looks like a beautiful abstract painting. The colours are sublime. 🙂
The colors in that final shot were even more incredible first-hand. It’s an amazing place. Thanks for commenting!
WOW….well that outstanding collage of beauty just brightened my day!! 😘
🙂 Happy to bring you some sunshine April!
I like how you describe the feeling of each shot as similar in the sense that you “…felt elated and completely in tune with nature as I absorbed the incredible beauty of the world around us.” as I think every time I hold the camera in beautiful settings, I have this feeling of awe. A state-of-mind that never changes, although of course each memory being uniquely different in their own way. However, there is one shot you have here that I do not think I could imagine how I would have felt, your “Calving, Glacier Bay” photograph…the violent poetry, fury and sound of this must have been beautiful to witness.
Thanks Randall – yes the sound and fury of the calving is quite something to experience. And in a split second it’s over, followed by dozens of ice-filled waves. We are very lucky to have experiences like these, no?