woodland soul

For the last few days chasing golden hour slowly became a routine of mine; perhaps due to the forecast and upcoming cloudy, rainy days (actually, the first raindrops are tapping on the roof window above my head right now), and trying to get as much as I could out of that. Seems unbelievable how clear the sky has been lately, giving a wonderful sunlight during the day, and incredibly vivid moonlight in the night – every time I’m amazed with that bluish glow overcoming darkness and even making unexpectedly sharp shadows.

However, when I was going out with the camera (and the dog) by my side, I didn’t connect facts of beautifully clear sky and the full moon in a calendar. I was focused so much on the setting sun that I didn’t even notice the rising moon behind me. Thus, I turned around and to my surprise, I saw that perfect white circle above the woods. Could I be more lucky?

I’m deeply fascinated by the night sky. There’s something mesmerizing about the moon, about the phases; that every day it changes a little bit, sometimes shining more, another time less intensely. All those constellations which we can stare at, always finding something new, especially when getting farther from light pollution. Wherever we go, they always accompany – the stars can be different but they’re there.

That all makes me feel so small comparing to the whole universe; and at the same time lets me wonder how little my troubles are as well. The power of nature.

Two days ago I was woken up by the sunshine going through the window. Completely unusual event – I can’t remember the last time the sky was so clear during the whole day, without being interrupted by a sudden rain. I took my dog for a morning walk. Despite the sun, in the beginning I could still notice frosty grass in the shadow, and breath in a bit chilly air; but before we started heading back home, the temperature had risen, tempting to continue our stroll. We were crossing my village’s vast fields, sometimes so muddy that it was quite difficult to move the shoes forward, meeting lambs, horses, hens, and wild deer on our way.

As the weather was too stunning not to take advantage of it, after finding my lost camera, in the late afternoon we went out again, towards the golden hour. It’s been such a long time, two years probably, since I brought the camera with me and took some photos of nature. Just for the sheer pleasure of it.

The reality was far beyond all my expectations – the sunset’s light was just too perfect, giving the surrounding an orangey tint, softening the contours, deepening the shadows. Simply breathtaking. Such a pity it can never be properly shown in pictures!

We were coming back at dusk, with the sky slowly turning into violet. Nothing adventurous happened but it felt so magical. You don’t need to travel far, sometimes the biggest beauty is literally just around the corner.