I couldn’t tell at the time but now I see all of your previous mistakes. Those precious wild flower pics sucked compared to the awesome ones in this post… haha you’re an impressive man my friend.
Really enjoyed this one as always. I look forward to reading a future field note about a trip you and your son go on 👊🏻.
My son and I actually just decided on a 3 day trip to Shining Rock in early August. He’s been to the area several times before, but never on an actual backpacking trip. I’m stoked!
And yeah, maybe one day we can figure out a trip together, too!
Fantastic images and story Erik. Amazing wildflowers - they are completely different to the low rainfall and poor soil adapted wildflowers we find here. I really appreciate how you balance objective driven adventure and an openness to the responding to the experience - perhaps this is the nature photographers' Way?
That is a perfect way to state it. We set out with an idea of what we want to achieve, but nature has its own agenda. If we stick too closely to our own desires, we set ourselves up for disappointment. Working with nature is, like you say, the photographers way!
I really loved the first photo in this essay. Awareness and purpose...I'll enjoy digging into your references. Timely stuff for these humid & stormy summer days.
Thanks Jesse! Takuan and his writing on Zen, and how I relate that to nature, have been the theme of this series. Hopefully in the final part coming up I’ll be able to tie that in with Stoicism a bit.
Wonderfully dramatic photos Erik! I enjoy your pondering of Japanese philosophy here too; I lived in Japan for a while and was fascinated by concepts of the way and no-mind. They are difficult concepts for westerners to unwrap, bound up in a complex history and culture but there are lessons there for us to take for sure.
Have you read The One-Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka? It's mostly about farming but there are some gems in there about no-mind, especially relating to nature connection.
Believe me, by no means do I think I have these Japanese concepts figured out! But, parts of it seem highly relevant and relatable.
I haven’t read Fukuoka, but it is on my list now. In my past martial arts studies I read The Life Giving Sword by Yagyu Munenori and Musashi’s Book of Five Rings. I want to re-read those now, if I can find the books!
I couldn’t tell at the time but now I see all of your previous mistakes. Those precious wild flower pics sucked compared to the awesome ones in this post… haha you’re an impressive man my friend.
Really enjoyed this one as always. I look forward to reading a future field note about a trip you and your son go on 👊🏻.
And then maybe one that we go on one day!
lol!!! Thanks Kyle!
My son and I actually just decided on a 3 day trip to Shining Rock in early August. He’s been to the area several times before, but never on an actual backpacking trip. I’m stoked!
And yeah, maybe one day we can figure out a trip together, too!
❤️👊🏻
I enjoyed watching the storm build over the distant mountains with you. Really lovely cloud shots!
It’s not often that I get the chance to photograph a storm that I’m not in the middle of! 🤣 Thanks Rachel!
Pure Soul food. Mesmerizing.
Thank you so much!
Just spent 5 minutes drooling and then went back and started from the beginning.
And your way with words.
I’d love to hike with you!
You're too kind, Holly! Thank you so much! There should be some kind of Substack hiker meet up. That would be a lot of fun!
Fantastic images and story Erik. Amazing wildflowers - they are completely different to the low rainfall and poor soil adapted wildflowers we find here. I really appreciate how you balance objective driven adventure and an openness to the responding to the experience - perhaps this is the nature photographers' Way?
That is a perfect way to state it. We set out with an idea of what we want to achieve, but nature has its own agenda. If we stick too closely to our own desires, we set ourselves up for disappointment. Working with nature is, like you say, the photographers way!
I really loved the first photo in this essay. Awareness and purpose...I'll enjoy digging into your references. Timely stuff for these humid & stormy summer days.
Thanks Jesse! Takuan and his writing on Zen, and how I relate that to nature, have been the theme of this series. Hopefully in the final part coming up I’ll be able to tie that in with Stoicism a bit.
I’m looking forward to it, Erik.
Wonderfully dramatic photos Erik! I enjoy your pondering of Japanese philosophy here too; I lived in Japan for a while and was fascinated by concepts of the way and no-mind. They are difficult concepts for westerners to unwrap, bound up in a complex history and culture but there are lessons there for us to take for sure.
Have you read The One-Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka? It's mostly about farming but there are some gems in there about no-mind, especially relating to nature connection.
Believe me, by no means do I think I have these Japanese concepts figured out! But, parts of it seem highly relevant and relatable.
I haven’t read Fukuoka, but it is on my list now. In my past martial arts studies I read The Life Giving Sword by Yagyu Munenori and Musashi’s Book of Five Rings. I want to re-read those now, if I can find the books!
Yeah, lots of very relatable and relevant lessons. I read The Book of Five Rings a while back (I studied Wado Ryu Karate) and it was great!