I must admit to you, my readers, that I have neglected my blog the past few weeks.  It has however been an incredible summer and early fall for me in many ways.  I have ventured out alone and with others and each trip has been a true joy and adventure though in very different ways.

Perspective is an amazing word to explore and consider.  As a noun it has more than one definition and it’s the fact that is has a different definition for varied situations that makes it fit this blog piece today.

When I share with you the images here of mountain scenery it is my perspective or attempt at creating one as a photographer or artist might; “the method by which solid objects drawn or painted on a flat surface are given the appearance of depth and distance”, according to the Cambridge dictionary.  Though a photograph—a small piece of the much larger and grand views while beautiful—can never truly give you the perspective of having the scale and yes depth in front of you.

The other meaning of perspective is a much more intimate one, “a particular way of viewing things that depends on one’s experience and personality”.  This one gets to the heart of the purpose of this blog truly—it is my experience coupled with who I am inside that explains my joy, passion, and drive to be a part of these mountains.  It is the view I see and my emotional response to it that drives me to grab my camera and shoot.

It is my perspective while walking alone on the trail that is also the most difficult to put into words.  The trail and the mountains become the only thing.  There are roots, slippery rocks, and boulders that require both hand and feet to think about.  The drive to make the distance give your feet and your pace momentum.  Work, money and the rest of the world become so separate and apart from your mind and your soul.  You hear nothing but your own footsteps, the birds, and the wind.

And your perspective changes even on the trail because the depth and distance evolve from surrounding forests and canopies to that of rhododendron covered paths and these then become a thing of the past when you reach a summit.  The ridgelines and mountains meet ever changing sky and clouds.  The streams and waterfalls that lay hidden deep in the forests to me are loud, laughing, and childlike.  They can be gentle and timid or boisterous and grand in both their force and flow.

I’ve walked and hiked Nantahala, Grandfather, and the White mountain forests this year.  Each trip providing me new perspectives on myself and the mountains that I love so very much!  The calling and pull is stronger today than it was when I answered it almost 4 years ago.  And I hope you will enjoy my attempts here to capture and share some mountain beauty.

Perspective