Neither Here Nor There
A meditation on the pause
“Between two worlds life hovers like a star,
’Twixt night and morn, upon the horizon’s verge.”Lord Byron, Don Juan, Canto XV
Your Eyes: What Do You See?
Please take a quick look at the photo, then a longer one. I’d love to know your impressions.
Quick Look
What’s the first element that your eye lands on?
How does this image make you feel?
What’s one word for this scene?
Look Longer
Now try some slow looking and see what you notice.
What small details do you notice that you might have missed at first glance?
Follow the wake lines. Where do they lead your eye, and how do they shape the composition?
Put yourself on the boat. What do you hear? What does the air feel like? What else does the crossing stir in you?
My Eyes: Behind the Image
This photograph was made late in the day at Reykjavík Harbor, beneath a distinctly Icelandic sky: moody and unsettled, always in rapid flux.
I immediately felt a sense of calm and serenity as my thoughts dissolved in the wake of the vessel. I’ve since incorporated the image into a meditation akin to traditional meditative practices in which you passively observe thoughts and distractions without paying attention or applying judgment. You’re just there, watching and ignoring.
What Drew Me In
The yellow boat was the first element that pulled me in. I’m always attracted to scenes (and artwork) in which a small burst of color or an unusual shape punctuates the rest of the composition.
I also loved the tensions in the frame: the glass-like body of water against the rippling wake, stillness and motion, calm water and brooding sky, and the lone boat in all that space.
In the Pause
Beyond the chill vibe, what held me was the liminality of the moment (liminality is a theme in many of my images). While you can plot the boat’s physical coordinates at any time, the little craft occupies a pause between departing and arriving. That state has no coordinates; you sense it.
The boat will dock soon enough. If I were on it, I'd be in no hurry to arrive.
“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.”
Attributed to Lao Tzu
A complicated image of "apprehensive serenity." Feeling at once both secure and vulnerable, "home-free" and "lost-at-sea." There is smooth sailing ahead but rippled waters behind, confirming that our mere passage changes everything. We leave our mark, changing what we encounter even as the mountains remain stalwart sentinels hiding from our view what lies beyond the horizon.