Magic Places

To me a Magic Place is where the collective intelligence of a people from long ago still lingers, infusing the very stones with their spirit. You may know what I mean when I talk of an Old Soul—a person who when you first meet them you know they are special. It’s as if they are more evolved than the rest of us and possess a greater understanding of the world. Their wisdom is palpable.

Some places have this same sort of wisdom. Pueblo Bonito at Chaco Canyon is one of those Old Soul places. You can feel it. As if the breath of the ancestors still mingles with the canyon breezes that flow through the ruins. More than that, it is a sacred place where the gods themselves still hold court.

How do you capture this magic with a camera, a device that is firmly rooted in our modern, digital world? I don’t know if I can answer that. I think you have to be there, be still and let the spirit of it flow through you. Then you begin to feel the magic and photographing it becomes easy. Light, history and your own spirituality come together in a visual expression of the place.

--Janet Worne

Finding the Reflection in Life

Photographers flock to a brilliant sunset, a fiery blaze or some other event infused with high drama. They go immediately to the heart of the matter and rightly so. These things can be fleeting and you must get what you can while it lasts. But for every action, there is a reaction. For every sunset there is a subtle reflection in the opposite direction. For every high-flying, game-winning football catch there is an explosion of emotion on the sideline. And for every house fire there is the reaction of the displaced resident and sometimes, you find the kindness of a stranger who consoles them.

That’s what I found at this house fire. The dog was upset and confused. He tried to get back into the house but an animal-loving firefighter took the time to distract him. I only saw this scene unfold because I took my attention away from the fire itself long enough to find a reaction.

--Janet Worne