Fear, Faith, and Photography

Sometimes we envision how things should be and are disappointed when they don't work out. I had gone to Cumberland Falls for a beautiful sunrise. It never happened. I could have been impatient and left, but I relaxed and waited. Conditions changed and I was rewarded with this shot. Mood and emotions are ever changing. None will last. They are like the weather that comes and goes in a pattern beyond our control. Patience and a positive attitude help us live in the here and now and appreciate every moment.
Ken Duncan

I agree with Ken Duncan. Sometimes people think the moment is more powerful and dramatic than it turns out to be, and fear dominates. Everything is in flux, and in retrospect, things aren't always that bad. We endure.
Events, both personal and collective, have always seemed exactly like weather patterns to me. Shifting pressure points and the movement towards equilibrium. A logical and necessary movement. I don't think there is a whole lot one can do to change the overall. I go along with Ken's approach. Patience and appreciation.

Is this Bigfoot or yet another sequoia? These trees certainly are well-loved. Something protective, it seems.

When I'm traveling in America, people pick up on my accent and tell me they would love to come to Australia, but they believe we have too many dangerous animals. It's true we do have a few, but they rarely bother you unless you do something silly.

It's amazing how fear can creep in and try to stop you from fulfilling your destiny. I have learned that preparation helps to avoid desperation, but in the end the journey must go on, and it doesn't make sense to let fear put fences around our dreams.

In Denali National Park in Alaska, we had been warned about bears. I told our informant that we would have faith, but in the end we settled for bear bells, and decided we'd make as much noise as possible, so as not to surprise a dozing grizzly.
Although we had no problems with bears, we did meet up with another one of Denali's infamous residents. We had just finished shooting a full moon at sunrise. We were back at our bikes, and I was just strapping my tripod onto the rack, when I saw my friend - eyes big as saucepans- looking toward another small lake and mumbling something. He was making weird hand signals, sticking his thumbs in his ears and wiggling his fingers. In exasperation he pointed to the lake. "Moose!" I yelled. "Yes, he said, and it's huge!" He jumped on his bike as the moose came thundering toward us. Thanks to a healthy fear, I pedaled like I never did before - my legs were like pistons - and I didn't look back until I reached the top of the hill. Fortunately the moose stopped halfway.
We can spend an enormous amount of time worrying about the bears that might come and trying to anticipate every twist of fate. But often, in the end, it's not the bear that comes at all. It's the giant moose!
Ken Duncan.
Top: Cumberland Falls Kentucky.
Bottom: General Sherman Tree, Sequoia National Park.