Medicine
Oregon · USA
On an unseasonably warm and sunny spring day that I'd hoped would free me from all thoughts of work, I was instead hounded by it, aided by the mixed blessing of cell phone technology. Text messages about job-related issues peppered my phone, not nearly as cut off from the outside world by the rugged forested ridges of the Columbia River Gorge as I'd hoped it'd be. As a result, I found my 4-plus-mile itinerary to Casey Creek effectively halved as I attempted to counter the intrusive reminders about the job-related tasks ahead by taking out and flexing my camera at regular intervals all along the way, even if the scenes might have been of marginal visual interest otherwise. I'll probably end up deleting a good 90%-95% of the images I took, but for me, photography is rarely about the end result anymore. On this day, as it often is, the exercise itself was pure therapy.
And on the bright side of things, the slower place brought me here to Nick Eaton Falls just as the afternoon light broke through the forest canopy and brought the scene dancing to life. My spirits quickly followed suit, and I spent a good hour here watching the sunlight slowly play across the water and rocks, a cool breeze and gentle mist soothing my senses (and sensibilities) all the while.
