Parting Shot

The Art of Seeing

photo by LANCE EKHART

I can appreciate a good adrenalin rush as much as the next guy, but recently there has been less of that and more time for reflection and introspection because we have had to stay closer to home and away from other people. This has presented an opportunity for me to nurture a more intimate, personal rapport with the abundant natural treasures that surround us here in the Northwest.

I used to think that beautiful and interesting things were always there to find (and photograph) if I looked closely enough. But it’s not really “looking” that works best for me—I think of it more as ‘seeing.’ ‘Looking’ suggests actively searching for something. It implies having a pre-conceived idea of what there is to see (and inevitably comparing it to previous similar objects). The problem: I might fail to see something that I was not looking for!

‘Seeing’ seems to work in reverse. I have no expectation of what I might see: some particular thing just seems to attract me. I allow whatever nature presents to come ‘in’ rather than me looking ‘out’ for a more specific thing I’ve already envisioned.

I found myself on the west side of Fidalgo Island on a very windy and sunny early evening in the wake of an epic storm. The sea was rough and breaking on the black cliff face and I noticed that the waves would hit the cliff, rebound, and collide with the next incoming surge, erupting in a fountain of backlit spray. I sat there for a while, enraptured, and then I began to see the most remarkable forms made by the splashing water frozen in each millisecond of time. I rejoiced in discovering a new way to see and photograph water!