Originally published in The Mountain Connection, October 2002.

In recent articles I have talked about finding the inspiration for great photographic images. The quest to find that magic moment or picture is central to all art. But there are times where that magic seems to elude us. For the novelist it's called "writer's block." For the artist we might call it "occluded inspiration."

Those moments when I seem to be unable to see the image that I want to capture thankfully occur relatively rarely. But every so often it happens. I can be in a wonderfully beautiful place and find myself unable to compose an image that captures the magic of that moment.

My theory is that there is so much in front of me that I find beautiful or captivating that is almost as if my senses are overwhelmed and I don't know where to focus. At times like this I use what I like to call my "zen photography." Rather than trying to focus in on a subject, I mentally back away from the scene and let it wash over me. What I mean by this is that I just take in the scene before me without trying to analyze it. Eventually, something will catch my eye. Whether it is particularly beautiful light, a vibrant color, the juxtaposition of two objects, a pattern, or a texture, something will cause me to focus on one part of the landscape.

Once I have found something that catches my eye then I begin the process of thinking about how to enhance that subject to make it as strong and dynamic a photograph as possible. Now I begin the composition process determining where I want to position objects in the frame, and what to leave out and what to include. I am deciding whether the aperture or shutter speed is more important, and whether a certain filter will enhance the picture. As soon as this process begins then I am back in an inspirational mode.

This lack of an inspirational moment happened to me several years ago when I was photographing in Rocky Mountain National Park. I was trying to film the elk during the rut and the fall colors of the aspens. But the elk wouldn't cooperate with me
. They were either too far away or they ran over the hill. And I just could not seem to find a composition of the aspens that I liked.

So I used my zen photography approach and started to wander through a grove of aspens. At first nothing happened. But after a few minutes I looked down at my feet as I walked along. The aspens were beginning to drop their leaves as the weather got cooler. And the forest floor was now covered with a kaleidoscope of aspen leaves in a wild assortment of colors from yellow to orange, red, and brown. I was immediately caught up in the myriad of photographic possibilities in front of me. If I moved even a few inches I saw a whole new picture. The difficulty now was deciding what to focus on. I got out my camera and tripod and set to work. The results of what turned out to be an entire afternoon of shooting were wonderfully pleasing.

The point of this story is that I had no idea and could not visualize the photographic possibilities in front of me until I backed off and just took in the landscape in front of me. I think that many times, the more we push to find and make great pictures, we put such pressure on ourselves that it narrows our vision and we are then less able to see the possibilities. When we relax our minds it opens us to the infinite possibilities and ideas that are out there.

As you explore the world around you, whether to photograph or just experience the great outdoors open your mind to really see what is front of you. Sometimes it is a difficult process and we must overcome our pre-conceptions or expectations. And at other times all that is required is to have a quiet mind or to change your perspective. And sometimes all you need to do is look down at your feet.