Gratitude [explored]

It's very easy to let negative feelings from this "year of suck" overwhelm and drag me down. But this Thanksgiving has given me pause to appreciate all the great things I have to be grateful for. The greatest of which is my family, and with my oldest arriving back from her all-to-brief respite from the virus in the Maritime Bubble of Atlantic Canada, we are all back together again. As both my girls stretch their wings and prepare to fly, I feel sad for them being grounded and forced to put all their dreams on hold. But I'm also so grateful and happy to be able to spend that little bit of extra time with them, to see with fatherly pride the young women they've become.

 

I'm also thankful that photography has taught me to better appreciate the magical moments that life grants us. Like walking along a mountain trail on a gentle morning at that special time of year when nature unfolds her dazzling cloak of colors. I wish I'd found it sooner. I feel like I spent my twenties behind a computer screen, unaware of how incredible the outside world is, and unappreciative of how much my mind craved the soothing touch of nature. At least I figured it out eventually, and for that I am sincerely grateful.

 

Shot at South Mountains State Park on a brief visit with Kevin Benedict. Credit to Kevin, as usual, for this off-the-beaten-path discovery. This is Jacob Fork creek, flowing down from High Shoals falls, taken at dawn with just a hint of an early morning mist hanging in the trees. Shot as a 3 frame pano and then cropped. We scouted the area the evening before and then decided to sample a few beers at Fonta Flora Brewery, known for some very interesting and unique brews, in Morganton NC. There was some debate about the wisdom of getting up early in the morning but we managed to shake off the beer haze and get moving again.

 

Here’s hoping everyone had a good thanksgiving despite whatever challenges you were facing this year.

Done