Photography as Access to Transformation

As I build my business and study different sources, I'm reminded of the power of blogging and the importance of frequent, almost daily, posting. Then, I see it's almost 3 weeks since I've posted here.

I am therefore starting a post today, more of an article, to which I'll come back later. In Friday's PICTURE TO PONDER, I featured two photos of shadows on the boardwalk railing at Wakodatchee. The first, above, was strictly of zigzag lines which gave off a feeling of being bombarded.

The second, below, shows how clarity sets in when we step back and look at the bigger picture.

In fact several of the subscribers wrote that these photos and the Self-Reflecting Queries created a major shift for them. The queries were:

"Where in your life right now are you being pounded with self-defeating thoughts? I invite you to step back and relook at the situation(s). Can you now see some clarity? Are there some actions you can take that will move you forward, out of the morass?

Have fun with it. Play and if you have a camera I invite you to do some photographing. Simply play with the photos and see what becomes available for you in mood shift. Perhaps new directions will also open up with the totally unrelated challenges looked at in the exercise above. "

PHOTO/WRITING - UNDER WATER

Feel like I'm drowning
Buried over/under with angst, agitation and anger
And yet it feels so smooth, so calm.

Words, not lines, are what makes this work.

There is a ladder - steps.
Take me up and out
Anchored tightly, bolted in.

What is the foundation of my life?
Does it matter where I start?

Swimming here - alone
I'm not even in the water
The words and tensions ebb and flow
Leave the space - empty or fill it up?

Along the sides, and secure, are the bolts that hold the steps.
The bolts will anchor
Lead the way
Hold.

©June 2006 Sheila Finkelstein

Since this seems so disjointed, I'm moved to explain the process. I loved the peace and serenity of the photo, as shown in Picture to Ponder - Vol 2 - Issue 52 . Something had me print out 2 copies to enjoy, one on glossy photo paper, the other on paper on which I could draw or write.

The latter became my pallette for free form writing. Starting 1/3 of the way up from the bottom I started writing, moving my thoughts along the waves and lines.

What you've read above are the words in the sequence in which I wrote them. Some of the writing is descriptive of my feeling state at the time and some of it is commentary on what I was thinking as I used the space.

Bottom line for me now is the overall feel of the photo/writing piece as a work of art. The word flow was the release and what remains is the rhythm of the pen creating another dimension.

SHINING THE LIGHT

Here comes Sheila with her camera again.
Shall I wave her away or welcome her with open arms?
I always see her out of the eyes in the back of my head
Taking all kinds of pictures here in Wakodahatchee Wetlands where I reside.

Loads of cameras here, tripods and long lenses often line the boardwalk.
Sheila sometimes tucks in between to see and capture the views people most people love
And many times she's taking pictures that others don't think to take.

Hmmm. She's stopping now, looking up at me, for the first time.
I wonder. Will she see who I think I am, who I know myself to be?
Or will she stay with the world view of what I do?

Evidently she has it.
I see her calling some people over to point out, in her camera,
Who she perceived me to be.

I'm flapping my winged arms in glee.
My narrowed eyes open more
I can face the world with pride,
Knowing that I've made a difference far beyond
Simply being part of a team lighting the parking lot

Others now are sure to be expanding on the light
That ignites the inner fires of discovery and transformation.

Will you be one of them?