Portraits in the Forest | Photographic Essay
- Taryn Pickard
- Jun 21, 2017
- 2 min read
As I get older, I start to appreciate the "small"things in life so much more. I've started to reflect back on my life to see what has worked, what anchored me, what shaped me into the person I am today, and what I want to do more of in order to further my life. One of those greatest determining factors has always been nature. The simple leaves growing, the flowers blooming, the humming birds buzzing around. It's these things than anchor me again and again, allowing me to have space between myself and my thoughts- to be able to stop and get off the crazy wheel of life and really contemplate what I want and what I'm doing in my day to day.
When I was a child, I i spent a lot of time close to the trees and the ocean, and I learned very early on that mother nature loved unconditionally. The forest and the ocean taught me what it meant to feel peace. The trees taught me what love and friendship looked like and the ocean taught me how to stay calm in the storms of change. Nature taught me to trust myself and to know that even in the most uncertain of times, if I could connect back to the earth, I could connect back to myself and to my core.
This intimacy with nature was what saved me growing up. It gave me an anchor point for understanding how I wanted my world to look. It provided for me a safe and loving escape when I didn’t have it anywhere else, and most of all it did all of this without asking for anything in return. All it asked for was my presence.
These photos were taken in the place where I now spend time (almost) every morning reflecting, giving thanks for the gifts I have in my life, and thanking nature for being that close friend when I didn’t have any others. The love I feel in a forest, or beside the ocean, has never failed me or left me or betrayed me. It is always there and always will be.
