The Natural Muse — Beginning with Attention
I didn’t set out to create a collection.
My intention that morning was to capture some additional images of hares. I had taken a single long lens with me, which fortunately has a reasonably close focusing distance.
But enroute a frozen pond caught my attention, the patterns of frozen plants in particular. This was really about noticing the light, texture and the quiet relationships between elements. And as I slowed down I noticed even more. The resultant images can be viewed here
This journal, The Natural Muse, grows from that same place.
Landscape and nature photography often celebrates the dramatic: sweeping views, rare sightings, moments of obvious spectacle. I admire that work though I also find myself drawn instead to the subtler edges — the way light grazes a tree bark, how repetition forms rhythm, how stillness reveals structure when we take the time to look.
As much as I enjoy the single “hero” image, I love how photographs begin to speak to one another when viewed as a whole. A series doesn’t shout; it accumulates. Each image adds a small note until a mood, or a feeling, quietly takes shape.
In the woods especially, this way of working feels natural. Woodland photography rewards patience more than speed. The light is fragmented. The compositions are layered. Nothing presents itself all at once. You return to the same paths, the same trees, and notice something different each time.
This journal is not intended as a technical manual, though I will record thoughts on process and practice as I go. It’s a place to reflect on seeing: how images are found, how they relate to one another, and how time spent in nature shapes both the work and the photographer.
Some posts will explore individual outings or locations. Others may look at themes — repetition, restraint, negative space, or the value of scouting and returning. Always, the intention is the same: to slow the pace, let the images lead, and allow meaning to emerge rather than be forced.
If there is a thread running through this it is attentiveness. The quiet act of looking carefully, without urgency or expectation. That, for me, is where photography begins.
“Through words and imagery, I hope to share the quiet beauty of nature and remind us that we are part of it, not apart from it.”