Crowd

spires pierce
a deep blue sky
lost in the crowd

– – –

Photo: Duomo di Milano, Milan, Italy, c.b.w. 2018

This is the last picture I took in Milan. The trip itself was amazing in terms of the architecture, culture, and scenery, but also because it was a return to something I love: travel. After a few years of being unable to travel overseas, it felt amazing to jump back into the fray and be somewhere so fundamentally different from home. On this last evening, my husband and I wandered around the Duomo as we had several nights before, but there was something different in the air. Rather than the sense of something exciting and strange, a feeling of familiarity and settling in took over. That’s the thing about travel – places that are foreign and unnerving at first quickly begin to feel like home. It’s in these moments that you realize we are more the same than different.

Words: c.b.w. 2019

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Blaze

one last fire
burns the day
out in a blaze

 

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Photo: Northern Wisconsin, c.b.w. 2005 (no filter!)

I’ve shared this image before, but it still offers inspiration every time I happen across it. It’s from a place not many know of as it is hidden carefully in the depths of the Northwoods in Wisconsin. In many ways, I consider it a privilege that I’ve been allowed to know the secret. It’s a place where loons call without the sound of cars or planes. At night, the sky is more light than dark because there are so many stars instead of city lights. Sunsets blaze across the sky and melt into crystal clear water. You can hear your own heartbeat fall into sync with gentle waves lapping the shore.

Words: c.b.w. 2019

Spin

cypress trees
warm in the sun
prayer wheels spin

– – –

Photo: Jingshan Park, Beijing, China, c.b.w. 2005

It’s rare to find a moment to yourself in Beijing. Pretty much everywhere you go there are throngs of people in every direction. So, when you do find that moment, it’s paradise. Cypress trees rustle overhead and the sweet smell of lilies are the only company, softly whispering to slow down and enjoy the solitude.

In places like this, the past is never far away with temples that have stood for centuries donning fresh red paint and yellow-tiled roofs. The stories are there waiting to be discovered or simply appreciated anonymously. This is why you take just one photograph and put the camera away. The rest belongs in a sacred place only your memory knows.

– – –

Yes, I’m continuing to dig through the archives.  It’s amazing how photographs I’ve taken and seen a million times (not to mention experienced) have captured my imagination once more. In many ways, I’m seeing places I’ve seen before with an entirely new perspective. Memories mean something more and continue to offer wisdom. The journey shall continue …

– – –

Words: c.b.w. 2019

Hum

calm and quiet
cicadas hum
the smell of rain

– – –

Photo: Monsoon Sky, Arizona, c.b.w. 2018

There’s that moment right before the monsoon winds kick in and the rain starts rushing down. No sound, except for the gentle hum of cicadas as they usher in the storm. It’s a moment to breathe and feel the enormity of the sky and the gentle movements of life.

Words: c.b.w. 2019

Time

silent tomb
vines spin and wind
around time

 

– – –

Photo: St. Dunstan in the East, London, c.b.w. 2006

A church hollowed out by the bombs of WWII, stubbornly holds on to it’s pride and sense of purpose. Where people once worshipped, a stone skeleton stands covered in vines, flowers, and the warm summer sun. A place to find solace, this is a pocket of quiet in a bustling city. Still, if you sit and listen, there are echoes of the past. This place has stories to tell and if you’re lucky you might just hear one.

Words: c.b.w. 2019