title from his 1960s song Dream Weaver, for the title to today’s post.
There is very little that I write on the pages of Earth Images that
does not come from within the fertile, sometimes disturbed resources
of my own brain. When I do use somebody else’s words, I try to give
proper credit.
You will find the actual lyrics of Gary’s song below. The title by
itself fits today’s piece better than the body of the song. Like
virtually all song lyrics, the words are a little bit “naked” without
the music, but often you can still feel their intent.
Dream Weaver by Gary Wright
I have just closed my eyes again
Climbed aboard the Dream Weaver train
Driver take away my worries of today
And leave tomorrow behind
Dream Weaver, I believe you can get me through the night
Dream Weaver, I believe we can reach the morning light
Fly me high through the starry skies
Or maybe to an astral plane
Cross the highways of fantasy
Help me to forget today’s pain
Dream Weaver, I believe you can get me through the night
Dream Weaver, I believe we can reach the morning light
Though the dawn may be coming soon
There still may be some time
Fly me away to the bright side of the moon
And meet me on the other side
Dream Weaver, I believe you can get me through the night
Dream Weaver, I believe we can reach the morning light
Images, especially photographs, can conjure up words in our minds just
as words can paint pictures. It’s sort of the “chicken or the egg”
syndrome. I admit, I have been in love with both images and words for
the better part of my life.
When it comes to photography, abstractions, are often the things that
dreams are made of. I mean, how can you “see” the abstract in the
ordinary, if you don’t dream? Dreams are created (weaved?) in our
minds.
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For me, the images that best fit the “dream weaver” scenario are
sunrises or sunsets. Especially when there is no definable landforms
to be seem.
The four images below were all made during one sunset while I was high
(high altitude that is) in the Rocky Mountains. I made my share of
images that evening that displayed the mountain shapes in all their
grandeur, but I spent even more time capturing only the combination of
sky, clouds and color. Notice that many of these clouds are brightly
and colorfully lit by the setting sun, while other clouds can become
silhouettes depending on their juxtaposition between you and the light
of that setting sun.
The sun, this time the rising sun, can paint no less of a dreamy scene
on a bit of winter’s snow at sunrise.
Do you know whether this is the side of a mountain, a twenty foot
slice of roadside snow, or a tiny area of snow that I captured in a
macro image?
An image like this is whatever you want it to be.
A few ripples in the lake, and a dramatic sunrise created dreams in my
mind. If the water was not so peaceful, this dream could be
reminiscent of a nightmare. As it is, it could send me off peacefully
to sleep. More dreams!!
Reflections are mirrors of reality. They can however, become surreal
when you add motion. Unlike the gentle ripples at sunrise in the
previous photo, this motion is that of a rushing river. The autumn
colors that are being reflected here, suggest a dream more than they
do reality.
Pictures of moving water and nothing but moving water, especially with
“almost” unnatural angles, can bring to mind dreams of being trapped
in a rushing series of waterfalls, with no way out. This image is
gentle enough to be a pleasant dream, but it carries with it
possibilities for a nightmare.
Patterns and textures are one of photography’s most common subjects
for abstractions.
This South Dakota mudflat at first appeared as a confusing section of
dried earth. Upon further examination (something every photographer
should do), I found a myriad of patterns and texture.
Notice that I located myself and my camera and tripod at specific
angles to the sun in order to create small shadows in an effort to
imply texture and to create a seemingly three dimensional photo. Also
notice the piece of upturned mud, is composed to be close to the power
point of this rectangle that we call a photo.
The horizontal format belies the patterns which run south to north
rather than east to west. To me, it worked because of the shadowed
area at the bottom of the picture frame.
We are all different and one can assume, so are our dreams. It might
be do to my propensity towards photography, but as near as I can tell,
and I say that because I do not remember most of my dreams, there
tends to be patterns within many of my dreams. I mean by that,
everything from grasses to buildings seem to feature patterns.
Did I first dream this image from White Sands New Mexico, before
making the picture? I don’t know.
Anybody who has viewed much of my photography, knows I love making
images of dew covered orb webs. They also know I often juxtapose
myself in such a way as to place areas of shadow in back of the web.
All of that is normal to me, but so is the propensity (from dreams?)
to find rhythmic patterns and mutually dependent areas within the
picture frame. Concerning the photo below, I was obviously searching
for organized chaos rather than complete harmony. Maybe half dream and
half nightmare?
Whatever your photographic desires are, remembering your dreams can
make you a more complete creator of images. What if you can’t remember
your dreams? Then reverse the process and create images that can
inspire dreams.
That would seem to make you a dream weaver.
God Bless,
Wayne
Earth Images Blog by Wayne Nelson 