Calm and Chaos:
This image is one of both chaos and calm. Disruption and order. I wonder about this image. It has meaning to me now. Now more than when I framed it and took the photo. Now, as I sit with it and think back on the day's events, I realize there is more here than I initially thought. I wonder whether, when I created this image, I knew what I was doing, or whether I applied my thinking to it days later.
I created this image on a hike to Heather Lake in Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest in Washington State. I started early, around 7 AM, and had the trail almost entirely to myself. It was a quiet and peaceful start to my day. As with most photography hikes, I stopped often, sometimes for long stretches, to take photos. As a result, people occasionally caught up to me and passed me by. One person in particular was unforgettable. She was a very friendly, very talkative older woman. She stopped and chatted with me for a while while I was photographing a leaf. It was a nice chat; she told me of growing up in the area and hiking the trails when she was younger. She was interested in what I was doing, and I was happy to tell her all about it and showed her the image on the back of my camera. It was a pleasant exchange. One I was happy to have. Afterward, I headed on towards Heather Lake, stopping several times along the way to take more photos.
The lake was calm and peaceful. Across the lake, I could see a rock slide that had come down the mountain and created an interesting pile of rocks at the lake's edge. As I headed to the other side of the lake, I was immersed in the water's calm and the woods' silence. It was peaceful. But as I approached the rocks, I could hear voices. The woman from earlier had found someone new to chat with. They were talking very loudly. (in my opinion) Not rudely, but loud; a noticeable disturbance in the peace. Perhaps more a commentary on myself than them, but I was nonetheless disturbed by it. I made it out to be far more of a disruption than it was. Not long before, I was happy to talk with her about the trails and my photography. But now, all of a sudden, it was a disruption. I realize now, looking back, that I went from being happy to have a conversation to being annoyed at a conversation. I had stopped at a still inlet of the lake at the base of the rock slide, hoping they would move on and restore the calm.
As I stood there, I noticed the reflection of this chaotic jumble of rocks that had no doubt slid noisily down the mountainside, who knows how long ago. The reflection of this chaos somehow lends the scene a calmness. A repetition that inadvertently brings order. Chaos and calm. The noisy, violent rock slide had come to rest in a silent and calm reflection. If the mountain and the lake could tolerate both calm and chaos, then surely I could as well.
