Tag: nature photography

Open the windows!

In the woods, among the trees, in tunnels of green I feel connected to something larger. Nature nurtures my spirituality. This weekend, I will present some of my photography in a church – a spiritual place too. I took it as an invitation: how would I make this church my church?

As an adolescent, I rebelled against organized religion. In agreement, I wrote down quotes that described churches as cold storage silos where every divine spark was extinguished in the chill of authority, hierarchy and stifling dogmas. No, it’s nature I looked upon. Nature is free and does not judge. Wasn’t a majestic tree or a standing stone enough for people to meet God in the past? Wasn’t that as good?

Today I am more moderate. I like to visit churches. But wouldn’t it be nice to bring some of nature into the church as well? To open the windows, as it were? In my exposition, I took this idea as a starting point.

Awesome wonder

I am not the only one who feels inspired by nature. Through the ages, people have found God in trees, brooks, and mountain tops, and written and sung about it. The expression ‘awesome wonder’ comes from a beloved English hymn, where it describes the feeling of meeting something higher in nature. It is a wonder, an amazement at the beauty of creation; but it is also a feeling of awe and respect for a power greater than humanity. Awesome wonder became my motto and the title of this blog.

The feeling of awesome wonder, of amazement in awe, is the core of all religion, according to some: the mysterium tremendum et fascinans, the mystery that fascinates but inspires with awe at the same time. At the exposition, on the altar, I have placed three images that resonate with this idea: (wo)man in a cathedral of trees; an elephant, a gentle giant you don’t want too near to you; and the lion with his blind eye that seems to look straight into the spirit world.

If you are near Heumen this weekend, enjoy with me, in awesome wonder, of the majesty of nature in this exposition. And then, step outside and discover something beautiful!

Sankt Wendel

With the weather so rainy, we had to carefully plan our hikes. This day, rain was expected throughout, but with some dry spots between 10 and 12. So it would have to be a shorter walk! We chose a hike near the village of Sankt Wendel. Through beautiful beech forests and pretty gulches we explored the environment of St. Wendelinus, a (maybe) Irish monk who lived in this area in the 6th and 7th century.

According to the legend, he was on his way back home from a pilgrimage to Rome when he asked to spend the night at a farm near the city of Trier. The farmer was unfriendly: “Why is a healthy young man like you begging for a place to stay and food with it? You better work for it!” So Wendelinus set out herding the farmer’s pigs, and later his cows, and finally the sheep. To his regret, it left him little time to pray. The farmer was impressed by Wendelinus’ faith and gave him a place where he could live as a hermit and devote himself to prayer. People from the vicinity came to Wendelinus for guidance in their day-to-day lives, especially when they had problems with thier livestock – according to one theory Wendelinus had received an education in Ireland, where the knowledge of the druids was taught in monastic schools. After living as a hermit for a number of years, he was asked to become the abbot of a nearby monastery.

We had lunch at the Wendelinushof, a farm named after St. Wendelinus, and visited Sankt Wendel, where the saint was buried. Actually, the monks in the monastery tried to bury him there, but they kept finding the body next to the grave. So they put it on an ox cart and decided to bury Wendelinus where the oxen would stop. This place later grew to be the town of Sankt Wendel.

Wendelinus’ story is interesting. Faith pays only a very minor role in it. Yes, he wants to pray and gets the opportunity to do so as a hermit. But the farmer and the other people from the neighborhood do not seem to be looking for a religious leader. The farmer seems to have a kind of vicarious religion: how good that you are such a faithful person – I’ll facilitate your religious life. The people who come to visit Wendelinus do so to get advice, especially on how to cure their animals and ensure their fertility. Wendelinus is an expert, an expert in faith even, in a time in which religion seems to be a business for experts only.

Maria Laach

We spent two days hiking at Maria Laach, a big lake in a volcanic crater. In the water you can see bubbles coming from the bottom of the lake, a sign that the volcano is dormant but not dead. Apparently a new outbreak is statistically overdue. Makes exciting hikes!

Hiking is lovely on the steep slopes of the volcano. We saw many mice, interesting beetles and even a snake. But the highlight is the Abbey of Maria-Laach that has stood on the banks of the lake since 1093. Unimaginably old, that is! The place has a very peaceful and loving atmosphere and we enjoyed spending the night at the abbey.

Summer hike

My plan for the summer is to do a long hike at least once a week, and since today’s weather promised to be the best of this week, I set out for a nice long walk this morning. I chose the NS walk between Culemborg and Beesd station, with beautiful Dutch scenery.

It was weird to suddenly realize I was walking on the Mariënwaard estate, where almost exactly 15 years ago I broke my back. I think I’m fitter today than before that day, but it has taken me very long.

Klipspringers

Another favorite: the klipspringer. Mrs. Klipspringer – without the horns – is slightly larger than her husband, and, when we saw them, also decidedly more brave. She had already crossed the road in front of our car when he was still checking us out from a nearby boulder. He decided that we were not safe and darted away – and then she had to go back as well, of course.

Klipspringers feel safe on the rocks, so that’s where you will find them. If you look at their hooves, it’s like they are walking en pointe like a ballet dancer. They are unbelievably quick when they scamper up a rock to get to safety.

Secretary bird

Our favorite bird is the secretary bird. On our recent trip to Pilanesberg, seeing a secretary bird was no. 1 on our wishlist. Our second day in the park gave us a nice sneak preview: a secretary bird far, far away. The next day got better: first we saw a secretary bird flying. Then we saw one in a field but behind a lot of shrubbery. After lunch, we tried again, and we hit the jackpot. Two secretary birds, and we were able to follow them for a while. Walk walk, stamp stamp, munch, walk walk. Beautiful creature!

Back in the Netherlands

I’ve been back a while, but finally the weather gods and employment gods joined up to give me the opportunity to photograph a misty morning on a quiet work-at-home day. So happy! Much better than seeing the fog from the train!