The fog and the frosted grass
The fog and the frosted grass (photos from 2008-10-29)
- The best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness. Mindfulness means being awake. It means knowing what you are doing.
/Jon Kabat-Zinn (Wherever you go there you are, p. 17)
When I came out of bed I noticed the grey outside the windows. It was embedding everything with its soft touch and made the world into a watercolour scene where the water is still dripping and making everything blurry.
I put on a pair of plastic clogs and went outside. It was chilly and the grass said wosh-wosh as it broke under my weight. It was frosted after a cold night?s breath. Now white of stars where a month ago it was only sprinkled with dew, the grass broke as I walked on it. Though I didn?t notice the frost at first because I was looking up. I was looking towards the black tree shadows and the invisible sky.
F(r)og by the pound too.
I love early mornings as the light is always so special and everything looks crisper and newly awakened. I wish I could experience it every day, but unfortunately I?m not a morning person. But maybe that is why I cherish these lonely morning experiences, because I catch them so seldom?
Smilla did follow me outside but was disappointed in the frozen cold world she did not recognize. She hurried back inside as I put the lens to my eye and saw the world in yet another way, through my camera lens. I was fully awake in that moment, my hands already cold from the morning air. My breath a tiny cloud going out from my mouth into the world. I walked around, and I saw things. Things I thought were full of meaning and value.
I was only outside for 15 minutes, but it was precious to me. When I came back inside I had collected much more than the photos I went out to snap.
I gave Smilla her breakfast on the floor, then poured black coffee in a big mug for me. I wish I could say I sipped it mindfully and sat to meditate for an hour after breakfast, but I can?t. I went about my day as I usually do and that was it. My dose of beauty and mindfulness that day was over.
Another split one I did, adding it to the pool Dyptichs.
Sugar rose? No it’s the frosting! It’s summer and winter in the same photo.
PS: How mystical… since I started this post I’ve seen two posts about the mist… it’s been everywhere! Did you see it too? Susan had morning fog and Karin, in another place in Sweden, had some misty mornings…
The quote at the top of this post is by Jon Kabat-Zinn, from his book Wherever You Go, There You Are (p. 17) that I’m reading right now, slowly! Taking in one or two of the short chapters each night. It’s a beautiful book about mindfulness and meditation. I like it a lot because it is easy to understand and it makes me want to meditate so much, plus it has pages with torn edges which is beautiful (they have not been machine cut!). If you need a dose listen to Lilou at youtube or Mr Kabat-Zinn at his google talk where he says:
Your real meditation practice is your life…
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Your photos are lovely! I’ve never seen cold weather portrayed so beautifully. I love the frosted flowers.
Nicole,
thank you, what a great compliment! I just visited your blog, did you know?? I didn’t comment but glad you did instead! Take care! :-)
I just heard something about that book. I will have to check it out. Lovely photography.
Thanks Leaca, do you meditate? I wonder where I will ever say I’m a meditating person… I so want to, I long to do it… but when? :-) Tomorrow perhaps (so much for being in the now)…
Very beautiful series!
Hanna… Lovely series of fotos, you’ve captured the unique mood of the day. Happy Halloween and enjoy the beginnings of winter. It’s lovely to see especially with the warm summery day we are enjoying in Texas.
You continue to take more beautiful photos. You know what to focus on and how to frame it. Magical.
There is s much stillness in your photos. You have captured the moment. :)
wow beautiful photos. i really like the rose and it does represent summer and winter in one!
Early morning are just the best, so calm and fresh.
i also, saw a lot of photos of mist in alot of blogs, must be halloween :)
take care and have a great weekend.
Beautiful pictures!
Bra grejer!
Dimjuset ?r helt fantastiskt om man kan f?nga det s? bra som du g?r. Det ?r lite klurigt, brukar bli m?rkt eller se ut som sn?ov?der.
Your photos are always stunning. I love the rose so much. I love every photo. I really couldn’t pick a favorite. We get lots of fog here in the MidSouth, USA. Sometimes it’s so thick you can barely see in front of you, especially the valleys. I love to meditate. I try to meditate every night. Did you know journaling is a form of meditation? I find when I meditate deeply my day seems slower & I take everything in more. All the small things that add up to the treasures you hold in your heart dearly.
Oh Hanna, how beautiful! Both your photographs and your words.
I agree with DeeAnn that journaling can definately be a form of meditation! I think pretty much anything that brings you into conscious-unconsciousness can be considered meditiation. I do yoga as meditation. My mind won’t shut up for a second so the movements of the yoga poses keep me in the “now” because I’m concentrating on doing them.
My favorite photograph is of the Maple (?) leaf…that is so gorgeous. It looks like it’s glittered with tiny pieces of glass.
You know? As I type that, maybe even photography can be a sort of meditation. You are still and quietly observing your surroundings. What a great excuse for you to take even more photographs (and hopefully share them with us!)
Thank you Hanna, again, for sharing your art and thoughts with us!
Wonderful photos – beautyful!
Greetings from Vienna
Nora
I enjoy misty days like the one you captured on your camera. Wonderful pics.
Hej Hanna,
vilka fantastiska bilder, helt underbara! Du ?r s? m?ngsidig och kreativ, och det ?r en ren fest att se vad Du g?r! (Jag ?r sparsmakad med linkar, men Du ?r f?rst?s med!)
I love these photos but can feel the cold in them. I am sort of looking forward to winter here but partially dread it as well. Thanks for helping me see some frozen beauty. :)
Oh my goodness! Those are beautiful photos that captured your morning. I LOVE the red leaf against the green.
S? vackra h?stbilder !!!
Thanks for encouraging comments!
DeeAnn,
for me meditating is trying to still my thoughts so that I can just “be” but I understand how journaling is a kind of meditation too, yes. Anything that “empties” the mind, like walking, meditating or zooming out before sleeping, is good for you. Thanks for the reminder!
U2Kitteh!
wow, thanks for your lengthy comments lately! I’ve read and want to respond to a lot in them, but where does the time fly?! I agree with you too, yoga is a great meditation practice – both for the body and the soul! Photography being a meditation is also true, that was what I was thinking about as I wrote this post of course. I think anything creative can become meditative – when you get caught up in what you do you forget about the future and the week that is coming! Thus, you go into a meditative state, wish is a wonderful feeling but not the same as meditating “for real” at least not for me! ;-)
Jag har boken, men har ?nnu inte l?st den. Nu fick jag s?dan lust att g?ra det. Tack!
Love your photos! Absolutely breathtaking.
Lovely photos…. I read Wherever You Go There You Are several years ago and loved it. It’s in my pile of books that I sometimes pick up and reread sections of every once in awhile now.