I was in position. The digital camera lens and sensor were both clean and the battery was fresh. The camera was on the tripod, ISO was set at 100 and the camera was ready to take up to five pictures per second just by holding down the button. The camera was focused on the male Canada goose in the foreground.

The technical side of the job was done and it was time to just be in the present and enjoy what the day had to offer. There was a delicate scent of spring, the sound of birds calling and the promise of warmer weather in the softness of the breeze.

I had my hopes. We had seen a female goose come join the male the day before. Maybe she would be back. It was time to wait. If I didn’t know what would happen, it was at least a great day to be outside and see what was going on.

We were staying at Natural Bridge State Resort Park in Kentucky and in the mornings we would go over to Mill Creek Lake. It was late April and the trees were budding. The first few mornings were fine but not particularly noteworthy as far as photography was concerned.

This morning was misty and the sky above was clear. The possibilities were improving.

The male goose called and around the bend came the female who surprised us by settling on the water about 40 feet away rather than coming directly to him. Off he went to join her.

All I had to do was push the button and watch. I got in 14 shots between the time she arrived and they were together. That coming together of two instinct-driven gorgeous birds will be with me for a long time. This was far better than anything I had hoped for!

There was a real rush in this moment. The lake with golden mist was an outdoor cathedral and the geese were participants in a ritual that goes back to the beginning of life as we think of it. I had prepared as well as I knew how so I could just be there and not worry about what the camera would do. I would have been grateful to just be present to see this. To get the pictures as well was a blessing, ‘a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over (Luke 6:38).’ The moment was touched with something beyond the ordinary.  Would it be correct to describe it as spiritual?

The central theme of this blog is that spirituality and photography mutually nourish one another.  Spirituality can enhance the experience of photography and photography can strengthen spirituality.  The result, for me, is a greater awareness of beauty and mystery in the world, a greater appreciation of God and God’s creation, a greater sense of connection to it all.

We’ll talk a lot more about this over time and I hope that as a result you may find posts and articles of interest to you.  I won’t say I have answers to the important questions;  I’m a seeker and at best I am simply  more aware of the journey and the joy of being on it than I have been in the past.  Join me!