BEAUTY
Trees – To Walk Among Friends, my new photo book, dedicated to my dad, is now available. It showcases a collection of trees that I’ve encountered and marveled at, many on walks over the past few years living in California. All the images are sepia-toned or black and white. Here’s a sneak peak.
Click on any image to see in gallery view.

Excerpt: “Our tree friends are the sentinels of our planet. Their branches draw down moisture, sun, and starlight from the cosmos. Their roots draw up nutrients and centuries-old stories from the soil. We are inextricably connected and cannot live without them, as they inhale carbon dioxide, offering back oxygen for our every next breath. Trees are sacred in most every culture and religion in the world, taking root in our soul through mythology. Their branches, trunks, roots, connect us with heaven and earth –– as above, so below. Trees are symbols of resilience and hope. But they are not a limitless resource. This book is not mass produced. It is only printed on demand through BLURB, one book at a time.” You can also order a high resolution PDF file to view on your computer. I would be honored should you choose to purchase a copy. You can ORDER HERE 

WISDOM
May was an incredibly creative and rewarding month. It began the first week, sharing my Beauty-as-Medicine workshop with students at The Chaplaincy Institute’s learning retreat in Santa Cruz.  The Santa Cruz Cypress Sunset image from the Trees book was taken that week. I was also inspired by the culmination of the eight-week course I took with photographer Doug Beasley where it happened that trees made an appearance in many of the photos I made for exercises and assignments. Our tree friends seemed to be at the forefront of my consciousness. No wonder the book literally came together in one day!  The opening commentary and dedication to my dad took a little longer and it’s unfolding was a bit of a surprise. I just started writing and vignettes fell onto the page. Shortly after I submitted the book to print, I had a dream that Dad and David Patten, my Druidic teacher from Nine Gates Mystery School, met and were chatting up a storm about trees over a glass of scotch. Both of them were passionate about trees, and scotch, so I can see them having this conversation on the other side, even though they never met in this life. My heart knows the dream is a blessing on the book from the two of them, and a reminder that loved ones on the other side are never far away.

China Camp Tree 9607web

China Camp Tree 9607web

More on Trees:  I received a notice this month from Pexels that over 7 million people have viewed my photos on the Pexels platform, and they are being used on more than 5000 websites, including Adobe. The photo Adobe chose is of a Tree no less!! And while images on Pexels are offered up for free, you would think that a company like Adobe, who is in the image making business, would pay at least a nominal fee to the photographers whose work they use. Not so much apparently, and I pay them $120/year to use PhotoShop!

And, if you too love trees and haven’t experienced Breathing with the Forest by Marshmallow Laser Feast, I highly recommend it!


ALCHEMY
Here is one of my favorite images from May, in a variety of iterations, that while created digitally, remind me of the art and craft of analog photography when we worked from film negatives with an enlarger and chemistry. The magical alchemy of the light-gathering camera lens, transposing a negative image onto a thin celluloid surface coated with silver halide crystals and dye, that when re-exposed through the enlarger lens onto photo paper and dipped into chemistry, wakes up positive, becoming a replica of what our eyes originally saw. I clearly remember the anticipation and excitement of seeing an image emerge on paper in the tray. It is still wondrous to me!

Thank you for indulging me. Photography is my love language. Teaching people to see Beauty-as-Medicine is my ministry. I hope you enjoy the seeds of beauty I plant each month. As always, I’d love to hear from you.

Peace, love and blessings,

Rev. Lisa
Spiritual Companion/Guide
Contemplative Photographer
Interfaith Chaplain/Eco-Minister
Free Photos at Pexels
Spirit-Infused Healing Photography Books at Blurb

Beauty calls us beyond ourselves and encourages us to engage the dream that dwells in the soul. –John O’Donohue