Snowdonia and memory
· Thursday March 12, 2009
Already it feels like a lifetime ago that I spent a weekend in Wales (Snowdonia National Park) with the walking club. On the other hand, it seems incomprehensible that a month has gone by already? Such are the paradoxes of memory and experience, I suppose.
Normally on away trips, we have a day of rain (“pissing it down” as we say here) on Saturday and then a blustery but sunny Sunday. Our trip to Wales saw a great deal of mist and light rain, but nothing decisive toward either extreme in weather. The drive out toward our drop-off point on the first day had a lovely view of Snowdonia, as presented by my friend Dave:
David Edwards Presents
Due to the slightly sinister nature of this photo, as pointed out by my friend Nadia, Dave has earned several new nicknames (“Mr. Burns,” “Dracula”) in addition to his usual repertoire (“Smiley,” “Devious”).
I didn’t feel like there were many “wow” photos to be had, perhaps given the ‘atmospheric’ nature of the weekend’s weather. However, there were some beautiful scenes of trees in mist.
Hushed audience
This photo reminds a bit of an image by a fellow photo-blogger named Colin Griffiths that I came across some time before the trip:
Reaching out
Photo by Colin Griffiths
I think to some degree, my artistic subconscious was influenced by the memory of this image, given the placement of the foreground tree’s lower-right branch. If you have a chance, check out Colin’s blog as there’s some nice content there.
Although I’d already blogged about the recent daywalk a couple weeks ago, I thought I’d mention a couple more photos. The walk originated in Micheldever and ended in Whitchurch.
Whitchurch, Hants
I realized partway through the walk that I’d done more or less the exact same route with the club nearly three years ago! At the end of the walk, we passed over a bridge at the train station…
Whitchurch Station
... upon which the the following photo was taken almost exactly three years prior:
Whitchurch Station (2006)
As humans, we’re naturally inclined to organize our experiences into logical little blocks. Through these structured elements we understand the narratives of our lives.
An interruption to the normal flow is often quite welcome! I think holidays (or away trips) are often memorable because they are so disjunct and isolated from our ‘normal’ lives. Photographs are also isolated from our lives because they represent data recorded over a finite and discrete amount of time. So, like holidays, photographs are special in part because each conveys an experience that is isolated from the steady stream of life.
In any case, I’m waxing philosophical and straying from the photos :-) In the next post, I’ll have photos to share from my holiday to Scotland! Take care ‘till then…
— Emery Ku
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