a working day off
every wednesday i try to take a "working day off" where i close up the gallery and get out on the trail. some days i go looking for new places to shoot, while other days i go with a specific location in mind-- like this past wednesday. i was on a mission to hanakapi'ai falls.
hanakapi'ai falls is a 300 foot waterfall deep in the hanakapi'ai valley. the trail to the falls is a two mile offshoot of the kalalau trail and begins at hanakapi'ai beach on the na pali coast. it's pure kauai jungle hiking-- lots of green, flowing streams and no snakes! smile.
this time of year the kalalau trail-- especially to hanakapi'ai beach-- can be quite crowded with vacationing day hikers, leaving the parking lot at ke'e full by 9am. when i hike, i like to be on the trail early anyway so i set the alarm for 4am with the plan of getting to ke'e at 5am. i was the third car in the parking lot and out of my slippas and into my hiking shoes with head light on and on the trail by 5.15.
quiet.
just the sound of my steps, breath, waves breaking and little birds waking.
it was like i had kauai all to myself.
photo: trail lamp. location: kalalau trail. gallery: tbd
the pre-dawn was beautiful and even though i was on a mission to the falls, and had predetermined not to take any pictures along the way because i wanted to get to the falls with no one there, i couldn't help myself. i had to take a couple of shots. just a few quickies of the moon and the orange skies of dawn.
photo: the orange skies of dawn. location: kalalau trail. gallery: tbd
and at hanakapi'ai beach i took out the camera again and found a place that reflected the quiet of the morning and the stillness of zen. and even though i was going with the intentions of capturing hanakapi'ai falls for the gallery, this shot is my favorite from the day.
photo: early morning on the kalalau. location: hanakapi'ai beach. gallery: full time
i had to laugh at myself and my ambition to be the first one at the falls. i was reminded that it's the journey that's important and not the destination. and, really, it's all the journey. zen teaches that, actually, the path is the destination.
the path is the destination.
there is no destination. it's all a journey. even when you reach the destination, you gotta go back. and that's the challenge-- living the mundane and extraordinary after little glimpses of satori or enlightenment. living with the ego after it's been lost or forgotten in the sunrise, in the reflection or in the moon.
the path is the destination.
photo: depth. location: hanakapi'ai falls trail. gallery: full time
i turn inland and head towards the valley in thick jungle along the pleasant sounding hanakapi'ai stream. these waters run from the valley end to the sea and i am walking to see where they fall.
photo: like magic. location: hanakapi'ai falls. gallery: tbd
when i arrive at the falls i am the only person there. like the trail before, i have the falls all to myself. i scout out a couple of angels and choose one from straight on. i am able to get the entire 300 foot fall in view. i like the little pool at the bottom, like cup of overflowing magic. hyperbole it sounds like, i know, but when you see kauai you'll understand. especially when you are able to have such an intimate dialogue with her in such a private setting. for thirty minutes or more, i am the only one here, listening to kauai's whispers and taking in her energy.
mana falls, and energy changes form.
i talk with alex, who arrives at the falls nearly an hour after me. she, too, is surprised that no one is there. she kindly asks me if it's ok to swim under the falls (she doesn't want to get in the way of my picture). i tell her it's cold, but go right ahead. that's what she came for. so's she's gotta swim. she thanks me and slowly wades in-- with a gasp of breath and howl. yes, it is cold!
i continue shooting and just take it all in. eat a couple of chocolate nut bars and think to myself-- it's about the journey. and good snacks along the way.
aloha,
lee
moon viewing
last night after work naomi and i went on a sunset hike up the east kauai landmark, sleeping giant.
photo: kalalea cloud. location: wailua, kauai. gallery: tbd
sunset way to the northwest as the clouds came in from the ocean to the southeast, making a little pukka of late evening blue.
and then...
wind blown clouds
let their secrets go
moon viewing.
photo: full moon viewing. location: wailua, kauai. gallery: tbd
aloha,
lee
softness
"Soft doesn't mean weak."
~ Rolf
Earlier this year Naomi and I spent three months in Goa, that dirty old portagee colony of southwest India. While there I practiced Ashtanga yoga with Rolf and Marci, took pictures, walked dogs, ate dosas, dodged crazy Indian "traffic" on crazy Indian "roads" on a black honda scooter, read books and slept. It was a good time, meeting yogis and artists who have become special friends.
After returning to Kauai in May, I found a little space for my photography and opened a photo gallery in Kapa'a. Two months have passed since the grand opening and the (art) business is going well-- knock on wood. This morning the first thing I did upon getting to the gallery was answer an email regarding an order and then it was all about carefully packing and boxing my artwork. I packed up 4 orders this morning (11 images to 4 different destinations)! So busy art days and photo shoots have taken away some of my practice time.
I remember those first few weeks after opening I would wake up and immediately have ten different thoughts in my head-- i have to paint the gallery door; i have to get Nate to finish the print rack; I need more lights; I have to take the ladder; I have to take the bus(!); I want this photo for the gallery; and on and on the thoughts went.
My yoga practice went from 2 and half hours of Ashtanga daily to 30 minutes or an hour twice a week. On same days I would skip my practice all together and go out and shoot. On other days I would get in 5 sun salutations before breakfast and then I was out the door ready to sell my art.
Now, two months in, things have settled down a bit. I kinda understand the business and what I need to do each day to have success and joy. I also have a pretty good idea about my inventory and am happy with the gallery. And even more importantly, I am happy with the work. So I feel that it's time to get back to my daily yoga practice and a spiritual routine.
I read in The Snow Leopard that quitting the spiritual path is more harmful and painful than never beginning the sacred journey. And that's what I feel now as I return to the familiar postures of my yoga practice. Each forward bend and every down dog, while not painful, is definitely not easy. Where I once felt such ease (sukka) I feel (mostly) is dukkha or discomfort. I am reminded that "yoga isn't easy" and that "soft doesn't mean weak." That's what I am trying to remember as I shake through the holds and feel parts of my body that I haven't felt in-- quite literally-- years.
Breath. Breath. Breath softly. Soft doesn't mean weak. Find strength in softness. Soft is strong. Soft breath. Strong breath. Soft breath. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Wow. That hurts..... Breathe. Breathe. Softly breathe.
Rolf's teachings also remind me that compassion is also strong. It is strength of heart and mind. Yoga is always presenting us with challenges and lessons. I guess it has taken a break in the practice to remind me of these things and feelings. These lessons that, perhaps in my skill and comfort, I had forgotten.
Beginners Mind.
Never forget what it feels like to be a beginner. A beginner businessman. A beginner photographer. A beginner yogi. Never forget the joys, excitement, difficulties and discomfort of a beginner. Good lessons to learn and remember. And I am thankful to learn them again-- through my photography and business and, once again, through yoga.
Aloha,
lee
another aspect of reality
"The historical diffusion of such teachings [esoteric and shamanistic teachings found throughout the various cultures of the world]-- and perhaps prehistorical as well-- is supported by striking consistencies in the practice of what Westerners, having lost the secrets, refer to with mixed fascination and contempt as "mysticism" or "the occult" but which for the less alienated cultures, past and present, is only another aspect of reality."
~ Peter Matthiessen from The Snow Leopard
I am reading a beautiful book now. It is called The Snow Leopard. It's by the American author Peter Matthiessen, who is perhaps known better for his fictional works At Play in the Fields of the Lord and Shadow Country.
The Snow Leopard is a beautiful travel book-- it's an extended essay on Zen, and a journey within amidst a Himalayan expedition in search of blue sheep (and if a yeti or a majestic snow leopard were to be seen, then even better).
The prose is is legato, like the easy rhythm found on a long, comfortable walk. The diction is simple, grounded like Zen, but like Zen, it is also profound and intense. The passage that I quoted above impressed me in that it is a very eloquent expression of what I often say, "The west is dry." And by that I mean, the west has gained a paradoxical state of mind-- empirical yet closed to so much experience. This has left the west-- and my culture-- dry, and as Mattiessen sadly points out, "alienated" to the possibilities inherent in reality.
photo: stand tall. location: muroji temple, nara, japan. gallery: three jewels
To experience this dynamic reality all we have to do is look around us-- with an open heart-- and eyes and ears and mind.
Zen often tells of the flags blowing in the wind and asks does the wind blow or do the flags. The answer then comes that neither do, it is your Mind. That is to say it is the energy that is everywhere and the energy that is in us. This is the same energy that flows through reality. And Matthiessen reminds us, through a beautiful travelogue, that this energy needs to be embraced so that we may become part of the whole, the real, the true.
aloha,
lee
photo: rejoice. location: ehime, japan. gallery: three jewels
7 minutes at tunnels
aloha.
today i'd like to briefly look at the changes that can take place during one photo shoot. we'll look at 35 minutes through five photos taken at 7 minute intervals. in photography, 7 minutes is a really long time! new worlds, colors, and emotions form and fade in just seconds, and as a photographer i think it is important to be aware of the changes and be prepared to adapt to them--- you'll need to be willing to change your perspective, subject, and settings quickly. it's also important to realize that it all changes so don't give up on a shot too soon and don't be too rigid in your ideas.
i often say that photography is all about compromise-- how much light do you accept? how much movement? how much depth do you wish to sacrifice for clarity? how much color for light? the list goes on and on, and it's all of these compromises that make up much of the technical challenges of photography. and of course you also have to compose the shot, but before all of that you have to choose the subject.
this series of photographs were all taken in one shoot at tunnels beach. when i arrived, i had an idea of what i wanted to shoot-- tunnels beach with setting sun and mount makana. but i was unsure of exactly how i was going to frame the shot. so i arrived early and played around with it.
here's the first shot in the series-- 6.40pm. as you can see the sun is just now beginning to approach the horizon line of ocean and sky. and as far as the subject goes, i have a lot of the mountain and beach in the frame.
now the second photo, 6.47pm, shows a shift in perspective and mood.
i think the change, along with the softer light of the lower sun, brings the viewer closer to the image. i tried to bring a hint of intimacy to the subject by inviting the viewer into the image. in a sense, i've invited the viewer to become a participant in the scene. notice how the waves come much closer in this shot as compared to the one before with the long, straight beach scene. i like this change better, and i stick with it for the rest of the shoot.
in the 7 minutes between the two shots, the subject changed-- really it changed completely. the subject went from a distant beach and mountain to the impressions of the potential viewer. now i just needed to wait and see what colors would come.
6.54pm gave me this...
cool. a nice scene. softer waves. less light available so i am able to give the show the movement of the waves, which makes them appear softer. all of which plays on the emotions and allows the viewer to take more of an active role in the image. it's almost as if they can step into the image. or better yet, it's as if the image is beginning to pull the viewer in. and this is when you know you've got a good picture-- it literally pulls you in. it makes you a part of the scene. and when that happens, the mind finds a myriad of connections to the place, image, scenery, memory of it all.
and i think the image taken at 7.01 pm does it completely with the amazing sky, flower like wave pattern on the beach, and a surfer's footprints slowly being washed away. this shot is the keeper from the entire shoot, and i named it washed away.
i find the scene evocative and rich in color. the mountain is there, but it doesn't over power the scene with its presence. instead the colors of the sky-- the pinks and blues dancing playfully-- become the central element to the shot. the mountain, beach and waves compliment, but the power lies not in the forms depicted, but in the emotions and feelings the create. the yellow hints at the sun shortly set. and the waves lapp at footprints, letting us know that the only constant is change and nature's beauty.
yep, i like this one.
i stayed a few minutes longer and one of the last shots of the night came 7 minutes later at 7.08, and although a nice shot, the drama is gone.
and so too, the warmth and proximity of the pastel colors-- replaced by a cool blue. and with those gone so is the viewer's intimate relationship with the scene. now, instead of participant the viewer is actually only a bystander with nothing invested. only the sense that something was missed. that's the affect of time. that's the power of color. that's all the difference in the world.
aloha,
lee
washed away is currently on display at the photo gallery, light source, in kapa'a, kauai, hawaii. stop by if you get a chance. mahalo!