Muted light from behind a large, orange and pink cloud bank illuminated the white sand and clear salt water of the Gulf of Mexico. So gentle this day began as I walked in quiet contemplation, looking for sea turtle tracks.
A pastel palette offered itself to the Master Artist as dolphins and human alike witnessed the birth of a new day. Gentle, lacy-edged waves kissed the shore, their whispered voices singing…. Shuuuuuuuu……… Shuuuuuuuu…….. Shuuuuuu.
It isn’t easy rising at 4.30am but never has the dawn disappointed. And this morning, in particular, was soft and lovely and embraced me with gentleness.
I awoke a little before 3am and wrote about a dream I had. Once I finished writing it was after 3.30am and sleep never returned. I heard rumbles of thunder in the distance and decided to get up, grab my camera and tripod and go to the beach for a stormy sunrise shoot. Our turtle team had a sea turtle nest to process later in the early morning hours so why not go early?
When I arrived at the beach it was as if a trapdoor opened and water poured from the sky. According to my radar app it wouldn’t last long so I waited and attached my tripod bracket to the camera as the rain passed through. I wore my GoreTex rain jacket to protect my camera if the heavy clouds offshore changed direction and headed my way.
It was barely light as I walked through wet sand. Lightning was streaking and touching the horizon but according to Spark, my lightning app, it was over 13 miles offshore. The light, clouds and smooth surface of the Gulf soon had all of my attention and I hurriedly attached camera to tripod and began a dance with light and clouds.
The orange-gold light in the eastern sky was softened by low clouds. To the south heavy clouds, nearly touching the surface of the water, created layers of grays, blues, whites with hints of orange. I’ve had friends shooting with me ask what settings I used to achieve certain results and its difficult for me to answer because I don’t think in terms of f-stops and shutter speed. I think about light and saturation of color. I feel the shot I want to capture and simply adjust my camera settings to achieve the emotion I want to share.
The artistry of photography, for me anyway, is to connect with a place or animal and notice the emotion I feel from the connection. From this connection I want to create an image that translates the connection…the emotion…to the photograph and ultimately to viewers.
I do not want to just take good photographs. The experience is why I do it…the connection draws me back to the same places again and again. I go deeper into the essence of the place and myself. I focus on the flow of energy between the place, animals that live there and self.
Dancing with light and color is much better than getting a full night of sleep.
Jesse Norman’s beautiful voice blended with the strings as she sang Vier latest Lieder: IV. Im Abendrot. During breakfast I had been reading Thousand Mile Song about…well, what else…whales. Lately I have immersed myself in all things whale, from scientific to spiritual in an effort to gain understanding of their wisdom.
Since spending a week with humpback whales in March my life hasn’t been the same. As I sat on the top deck of the large boat making its way back to land after being moored 80 miles offshore, I watched humpbacks. Already filled with emotion and listening to Whales Alive, I spotted a large pectoral fin rise up out of the water and slap over and over again. With each slap I cried harder. My entire life had been leading me to humpbacks and now I was leaving them. Yet the large whale lazily slapping her 15 foot pectoral fin created a communion between us that I will always remember.
Integrating the many powerful moments with humpbacks into my daily has been difficult. After such a life-changing experience how can I return to land, to life without their magnificent presence?
Recently I have made progress by spending time in meditation… listening… connecting. Reading more about quantum physics and understanding that we really are One with all life has helped me bring a deeper awareness of humpback whales and all of nature into my mind. The deep, profound peace I experienced with a mother humpback and her calf is returning as I spend time in stillness and silence….listening.
This morning, the sweet music called me to embody the mother humpback in movement. My excessively long arms became pectoral fins and I made peace with my body and the fact that sleeves are rarely long enough. As a humpback whale my graceful, long ‘arms’ would give me the ability to breach and turn and call to lovers with powerful slaps on the water’s surface.
As I moved gently and slowly with the music, allowing the essence of the whale to fill me, tears flowed and profound peace enveloped me. My relationship with humpbacks continues to unfold and their beauty and wisdom guides me as I surrender…opening deeper, deeper into the stillness of my own being.
Sea turtle patrol is one of my favorite summer volunteer efforts. Actually, it’s more than that. It’s my time in the cathedral of sunrise on the shore. Every venture onto the white sand to look for mother sea turtle tracks is an opportunity to commune with the sea, sky, sand and wildlife found in and around the saltwater.
And while all of that communing is incredible, amazing, relaxing, and awe-inspiring, time on the beach, with no other humans, gives me time to commune with my deepest self. It’s almost as good as being underwater on scuba or in the water with humpback whales or manatees.
Nature is my cathedral. It’s where I see Spirit manifested so powerfully, so beautifully. The dance of life is so evident here where saltwater meets earth…the convergence zone of watery existence and land-based living. The sound of the surf is the hymn for this time of contemplation and celebration.
Finding a mother sea turtle’s tracks is a bonus, the proverbial icing on the cake. Each encounter with great blue herons, sanderlings, willets, dolphins, tiny just-hatched mullet, crabs, coquina shells, sand, sea, sunrise, clouds…always gifts that are received with a grateful heart.
“Do you see over yonder, friend Sancho, thirty or forty hulking giants? I intend to do battle with them and slay them. With their spoils we shall begin to be rich for this is a righteous war and the removal of so foul a brood from off the face of the earth is a service God will bless.” Thus spoke Don Quixote in the novel written in the early 1600’s.
Equipment removing tar mats from Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge Summer 2010
There are times when I feel very much like Don Quixote. He might not have doubted his sanity but I doubt mine as I work to bring light to the environmental issues facing all of us. It feels like an unrealistic, impractical or even impossible goal. It may be noble but sometimes it seems completely unrealistic and perhaps even delusional.
The goal I set for myself is to be a bridge between nature and humanity. A bridge that raises awareness, increases communication and ultimately helps human and non-human life.
I believe the only way to help the planet is to help humans connect with…fall in love with…nature. This love will create compassion, care and wise stewardship. But there are days when it just feels as if the windmills…or oil rigs…or congressmen…or CEO’s…..really are hulking giants that will continue to destroy our Ocean planet…no matter how many crazy people like me write, photograph, document, sing or raise awareness through positive action.
There is no Sancho friend on this journey with me so at times the journey seems lonely. Yet today, as I cycled through the backcountry of Gulf State Park, I was reminded that humans are a part of nature. Every plant, animal, insect…everything is connected like diamonds in a web. So therefore, I am never alone. And neither are you. Perhaps our greatest error is to think we are separate, alone, divorced from that which sustains us.
For the past nine years I have dedicated my life to working full-time to help people connect with nature through writing, photography and videography. Living off of retirement funds and investing in equipment, book publication and travel to document unique places or species and to present programs to anyone who will listen, I have many times doubted my sanity. Why not just relax and forget this work?
Because…..Love knows no boundaries. I came into this life to make a positive difference and even if I’m tilting at those proverbial windmills, at least I am doing something.
Latest version of the cover of my new book
The past couple of days have been challenging and pesky doubts have arisen. But when I checked my mailbox today I had another partner for my new book, Manatee Mindfulness, with a note from my friend that said, “You’re doing great work Simone! Rock on!”
Perhaps I’m not delusional after all. I’m thankful for the reminder from sweet friends! And from nature that reminded me today of the web of life that connects all life to this Ocean planet. We are always connected, never alone.
Muted light from behind a large, orange and pink cloud bank illuminated the white sand and clear salt water of the Gulf of Mexico. So gentle this day began as I walked in quiet contemplation, looking for sea turtle tracks.
A pastel palette offered itself to the Master Artist as dolphins and human alike witnessed the birth of a new day. Gentle, lacy-edged waves kissed the shore, their whispered voices singing…. Shuuuuuuuu……… Shuuuuuuuu…….. Shuuuuuu.
It isn’t easy rising at 4.30am but never has the dawn disappointed. And this morning, in particular, was soft and lovely and embraced me with gentleness.
