On my desktop is a landscape. It is a photo that shows a body of water, a tree trunk, a bunch of grass and flowers, and some hills. Sounds kind of blah, but what if I said this:
It is a quiet afternoon. The grassy riverbank is dotted with tiny yellow lights, surrounding the yin-and-yang torso of a birch tree. Bees busy themselves, barely breaking the silence by their buzzing about the yellow flowers. The earth gives off a scent of grass and drying pine pins. A vanishing hill primps her evergreen hair in the mirror below; the water’s surface has tiny ripples in it, fussing up the vain mountain face. If she is disappointed with this nebulous representation of her beauty, she hides it well and just goes on batting her needly eyelashes. With a toss of her bluish tresses, she holds her head high and reigns placidly above her serene landscape.
Can you feel it now? The photo was taken this last August in the Numedal valley in Norway, along the bank of the Lågen river. Whenever I look at it, I am instantly transported back to that quiet afternoon and the magic scenery surrounding my parents home in the countryside.
I am always amazed at the power of a photograph. Just the sheer fact that a small apparatus can eternalize a single moment, the exact position of a leaf of grass, the minute pattern formed by a gentle breeze breathing on water. The vibrancy of the colors, the haze of the air – it is all there in the photo. But there is more than meets the eye. Embedded in the image are sounds and smells too, you can’t see them, but the image has the power to unlock stored sensory information from the memory of a scene that far surpasses the visual representation by the photo. These sensory details add up to a feeling, a mood, and thus you can relive whole passages of life with astounding accuracy.
Photos are hooks we hang our memories on. Without them, we would still have the memories, but they would all be in a heap on the floor, crumpled and wrinkled, some buried in the bottom of a pile and accessed with difficulty. But with a photo, they are right there, pressed and starched and ready to wear. In an instant.
14 comments:
GREAT writing!!! Just have to tell you. Your words are so accurate! What a scilled painter can do with a brush -you can do with words. Du SKAPER noe i meg med orda dine, og det er EN GLEDE å lese skribleriene dine!! Klem Micha.
Amen. Consider me moved. You're absolutely right: they can be such powerful tools of communication if we use them correctly. You clearly have mastered the art.
Micha - Thank you! Very encouraging. to hear. I appreciate your feedback and love seeing you out here! How's kitty? :)
Carmi - What an honor - coming from the master himself! *bowing*
Photos can be a memory organizing tool. I haven't thought of it quite like that.
btw, what makes the wildcat sound when I come here? Usually I have my speakers off.
Pearl - the sound you hear comes from my little "virtual pets" at the bottom of my sidebar... they are the electronic representations of my real-life pets! :) You can play with them - they purr when you pet them with your cursor and will chase your cursor-mouse...
Hei igjen! Katten har d bra:) Hun heter Sofie, er snart 6 mnd og er en skikkelig kosekatt. Og tålmodig m barn! Hun gjør d liksom litt mer hjemmekoselig syns jeg.
Så bra du er på bedringens vei igjen. Hørtes så skummelt og vondt ut med den kattekloresykdommen.
Klem til deg! Micha.
Koselig med katt! :) Mja.. den kattekloresykdommen var skikkelig ekkel. Vel, for å være nøyaktig så var den i seg selv ikke så ille - det var den påfølgende betennelsen som ble skikkelig plagsom... og den fikk jeg nok fra nåleprøven de gjorde på Ullevaal... smertene begynte etter det, og hevelsen ble mye verre også. Sånn kan det gå... her borte liker de ikke de nåleprøvene nettopp av den grunn har jeg funnet ut. Godt å være kvitt hele greia, sier nå jeg! :)
torn from time
a bit of
past
taken in such
us into it
they are
some try but
I could smell the honeysuckle
or was that
a Daisey
Here's a handfull of Daisies for ya'
:)
Love the photo and the words.
Hannah,
så utrolig nydelig bilde, og du skriver bare helt imponerende BRA. Men det kom jo ikke som noen bombe, husker jo dine stiler fra ungdomsskolen!! Allerede da i en helt annen liga enn flertallet.
Har ikke fått lest meg gjennom hele bloggen din, men har en del tid å bruke opp om dagen, og dette er noe av det som skal prioriteres. Inspirasjon.
Mariann
Brian - thanks for the poem and the daisies! :)
Coll - thanks for stopping by! :)
Mariann - så hyggelig å høre! Kjempekoselig at du stakk innom... skal prøve å oppdatere litt igjen snart. :)
Stunning photo - and you're right about how they can transport us instantly...
i agree with micha! big klem from me!! xxx jolanthe
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