Modern Therapy

Grass Patterns

Getting out with another photographer is so rewarding. Being able to just go for a walk in the woods, talk a little shop mixed with some conversation about work, family, goals, dreams, etc. is refreshing; it is energizing creatively and spiritually.

Forest Path

The image on the left makes the hike appear very secluded, which it actually isn't, but it appears to be.

On a cold, dark, foggy day a hour before sunset the path through the woods appears remote, secluded and even a little threatening.

The hike was anything but threatening. It was a relaxing, welcome relief from the stress I was going through at the time.

Due to some personal conflicts with my job, I made the choice over my Christmas vacation to apply for a new position at a different agency. I interviewed, was offered and accepted the new position.

All the time during the interview process my stress at work grew to the point that I was losing sleep and experiencing physical symptoms of stress, only getting only a couple of hours of sleep each night. I wasn't creating anything of real value. Two days after I gave my notice to my employer, Nathan called me up and invited me out for a couple of hours to shoot.

Frosted

Hovering

Nathan Smith

Above is a shot of Nathan Smith of PhotoNate.com as he gets his shot. I got to spend a couple of hours with him just meandering through the woods and various fields of Minto-Brown Island Park.

Thin Layers

A three mile hike through the woods is a great way to clear your head of all of the shit that life can toss at you. Work, bills, family, responsibilities... all of these can make life difficult if you don't find a balance. After my afternoon in the woods, I slept better than night than I had in months.

Seven

My headache eased up for the first time in months. My creative juices are flowing stronger than ever.

Thanks N8 for getting me out of the house and just chatting with me as we walked through the cold landscape of Minto-Brown.

If you are ever having a rough go, like we all do from time to time, grab a friend and your camera and disappear into the woods for a couple of hours. Even if you don't grab your camera, you might be surprised how much therapy you can get without paying $250 an hour. Friends can provide an ear that money simply can't buy.

A day in the woods final take

So here are the final images from my day in the woods with Michael Conkey of nine22.com and Nathan Smith of smithfineart.com. Michael was kind enough to model for us and was willing to play along with some odd requests like swinging an axe at my head and communing with nature and dancing a jig.

Posing for the camera.

See the full gallery on Posterous

 

Swinging the Axe

The above image was about as dangerous as it gets. This was shot at 19mm and I was about a foot from the axe. Both Michael and Nathan were gasping as I moved in for the shot. Yes, I admit it was dangerous, but it was also worth it to capture that explosive impact.

After the shoot in the woods, we decided to take the back roads back home and came across some amazing landscapes. We must have stopped a a dozen times, and here are some of the results.

See the full gallery on Posterous

And finally, we stopped at this church in the middle of nowhere.

All-in-all... it was cold. It was foggy. It was cold. But it was a beautiful, albeit cold, morning to be out creating art with friends.