A trip into the past

Four years ago was a very odd point time for me. I was about midway through a 2 year phase in my life where the universe was determined to test my mettle and force me to redefine my priorities. It was also a time where I was very private about my photography. A combination of shyness, lack of confidence and a need to hoard and treasure this new thing that was just for me.

Of late I have been going through images from that time and pushing myself to share them. I think I would make for a terrible storyteller if I didn't share the entirety of my story as a photographer....if I didn't show the beginning...the growth...the failures and success'...and where I now stand.

During that time a girlfriend of mine dragged me across the border for a week long trip down to Washington and Oregon state. It was an absolute treat to escape from every day life....and turned out to be a wonderful opportunity to go shooting.

On our first day at our cabin, I remember waking up just as the sun rose. I hauled out my camera determined to go out despite the gray, drizzly and cold weather. I remember thinking that it didn't matter if I came back with nothing...I just had to get out and capture something everyday...and boy am I ever glad I did. I walked along until I came across this scene.

I remember thinking that it was odd to see the tree all alone on a sand dune with a path leading up to it. It resonated with me...it looked a lot like I felt. The path representing all the crazy chaos in my life and me the lone carcass of a tree stood right smack dab in the middle of it. It was the oddest thing...but that didn't stop me from snapping off a few pictures before I moved on with my walk.

It wasn't until a week later that I learned that the "odd tree" I had photographed was actually a bronze sculpture (here is its story). Here I thought it a weathered down tree that had been beaten lifeless by the elements....instead it was a strong bronze sculpture that would eternally hold up to the tests of nature. I like to think that it was a message from the universe that in time I would ACTUALLY prove to be a bronzed strong me rather than what I FELT like at the time...a weathered and worn shadow of my self.