You can’t see me, but I am in this photograph

by Guest Contributor

posted Sunday, January 10, 2016 at 7:46 AM EST

By IR Reader Peggy Jones Pfister

The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls. ~ Pablo Picasso

I live in the southern United States where we have marvelously temperate winters, and in fact, November often brings beautiful days. This year, the day after Thanksgiving was one of those glorious days of temperatures in the mid-70s, brilliant blue cloudless skies, and gentle breezes. My significant other and I went for a walk in a local park to enjoy the day. As usual, I brought my camera along.

I snapped a few shots that caught my fancy, including the photo shown below. I was drawn to this scene by the stately pine trees casting their long shadows in the golden late day light, and the empty picnic table signaling the end of the day. As I processed the photo later, I saw interesting shadows, sweet light, nice textures of the tree trunks and grass, and pleasing lens flare.

But not only did I see, I felt. I felt the photographic satisfaction of having captured the scene, and the emotional satisfaction of having captured the feeling of that day. There are no people in this photo, at least not visible to anyone else. But I am in this photo, and my love is there with me. It takes me back to that beautiful day, that relaxing stroll, and our quiet time together.

And it does indeed wash the dust of daily life off my soul.

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Thanks for this wonderful and heartfelt submission, Peggy! To see more of Peggy Jones Pfister's work please visit her website by clicking here.

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