Lasting Impressions

Among my precious memories are occasional experiences of an intense interaction with nature. Episodes - and sometimes only moments - that struck a chord and left a lasting echo. My mental impression is connected to the photographic image, but for me it also reverberates beyond the image. Some of these strong experiences start out as an ordinary photographic search for appealing landscapes, good viewing angles, interesting subjects etc. At times though this activity gradually - or suddenly - becomes very intense. Something touches you. It can arrive on different channels. It can be an overwhelming sense of beauty, an unexpected characteristic, an unusual lighting, a rare atmospheric condition. But it can also be an everyday scene that somehow presents itself in striking freshness, purity, balance, clarity. Sometimes you have time to respond with the camera to the best of your ability, at other times you are in a "ticking moment" situation, leaving you fumbling nervously with the gear, hoping that somehow you'll succeed to catch the "experience". Even pictures with no genesis in a memorable "on-location" experience can be special. They have a growing long term effect, a kind of afterglow. They can be a slice of reality that you may have failed to comprehend or appreciate fully at the time of taking. This is a personal collection of lasting impressions.
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