I am a conduit. A messenger. My purpose on this Earth is to present and showcase the forgotten, unobserved or hidden treasures of beauty or intrigue The Universe has bestowed upon us.
It has been said that we have no idea how much we don't know. The realization of this fact opens huge caverns of information and possibility to us. Most people, in the busy-ness of their lives, never get to step foot in the woods for a hike. And so, an entire universe remains unseen and unappreciated by them. The harried single mom or the focused business executive may never notice the unfurling fiddleheads in spring. The click of my shutter brings it to them.
Perhaps, that business executive does enjoy a hike on the weekends. But she might only be looking at the big picture. The trail. The tree canopy. The lake. She might notice the chipmunk scamper across her path, but she’ll never interact with it. Never see the expression on its face. She will walk right by that mushroom, straight out of Alice in Wonderland, about 100 feet off the path, because it was simply never on her radar.
It is my belief that those details should not go unnoticed. They are gifts and people should enjoy and appreciate them. There are people on this Earth whose job it is to bring those gifts to the rest of the world. I am one of those people.
I am a middle school science teacher. Photography is my zen. Quite often, I find my lens focusing on nature, which brings the science to my art. Quite often, as well, I find I bring those images into my classroom, which brings my art to my profession. It's a wonderful, full-circle moment when I can share my images with my students and incorporate them into a lesson. The lesson then becomes a real-world experience.
Nature IS an experience. For me, it is a spiritual experience. It is my church. The details on which I focus, prayers. Positive energy. Capturing an image of something that has moved me is my way of holding onto that moment and sharing it with others. It is my gift to the world to take something that has brought me a moment of joy or peace or tranquility and share it. “This has made me happy. And now I hope it will make you happy, too. This is something that should be seen and savored. And now it is yours with which to do so.”
It has been said that we have no idea how much we don't know. The realization of this fact opens huge caverns of information and possibility to us. Most people, in the busy-ness of their lives, never get to step foot in the woods for a hike. And so, an entire universe remains unseen and unappreciated by them. The harried single mom or the focused business executive may never notice the unfurling fiddleheads in spring. The click of my shutter brings it to them.
Perhaps, that business executive does enjoy a hike on the weekends. But she might only be looking at the big picture. The trail. The tree canopy. The lake. She might notice the chipmunk scamper across her path, but she’ll never interact with it. Never see the expression on its face. She will walk right by that mushroom, straight out of Alice in Wonderland, about 100 feet off the path, because it was simply never on her radar.
It is my belief that those details should not go unnoticed. They are gifts and people should enjoy and appreciate them. There are people on this Earth whose job it is to bring those gifts to the rest of the world. I am one of those people.
I am a middle school science teacher. Photography is my zen. Quite often, I find my lens focusing on nature, which brings the science to my art. Quite often, as well, I find I bring those images into my classroom, which brings my art to my profession. It's a wonderful, full-circle moment when I can share my images with my students and incorporate them into a lesson. The lesson then becomes a real-world experience.
Nature IS an experience. For me, it is a spiritual experience. It is my church. The details on which I focus, prayers. Positive energy. Capturing an image of something that has moved me is my way of holding onto that moment and sharing it with others. It is my gift to the world to take something that has brought me a moment of joy or peace or tranquility and share it. “This has made me happy. And now I hope it will make you happy, too. This is something that should be seen and savored. And now it is yours with which to do so.”
© Carrie Hittel Photography