Worldswalker (Katie Clapham) on sacred moments:
Experiencing the Sacred
As a photographer, when I experience the natural world, there is a constant tension between experiencing the moment and the desire to capture its essence to share it through my art.
In summer, when I am outside, experiencing the joys of summer, I always want to create images of those joys. Summer is the time when the photography I create most resembles that of those of artists from other paths: it is not specifically pagan in the summer, because pagans are not alone in cherishing the warm days (especially in Minnesota!). We have that in common. My art celebrates the sacred that surrounds us and is in us: nature, beauty, stories, all in the moment. That celebration of the sacred, and the sense of what is sacred, is where the pagan worldview emerges from my art.
Summer under the Sun
In summer we see the meaning of abundance. Especially in Minnesota, summer is a time when we celebrate that we can be outdoors, can swim and bike and cherish the growing things, whether they be flowers or crops. The acts of joy in summer are a way to honor the gods.
Celebrating our Sacred Experiences in Beauty and in Stories
I see things that speak to me: a pattern of fractures in ice or glass, a staircase that evokes more meaning than its mere function, an old cottage that looks as if the fey could live inside. Sometimes I see a story, sometimes I am just taken in by color, shape, patterns, and beauty. The natural world is amazing and ever changing, so I have photographed weather, sky, plants, animals and landscapes. Not only is nature itself full of beauty, but the ways that humans interact with nature evoke stories of meaning and depth, whether it be a humanmade structure, deteriorating back into nature, or a pagan holiday celebrating the season’s turning.
I have a photograph of a red fire hydrant against a backdrop of spring flowers that rejoices in the colors. That is something under the sun. I have another of broken bus shelter glass with the sunset colors shining behind it. These are everyday things, made beautiful by the moment. That beauty is a doorway to the experience of the sacred, and a reminder that the sacred is with us always.
In this Gallery under the Sun, come enjoy sacred beauty, and experience a sacred moment.
"Orbit"
This image was a view of a sunset from a mountaintop. While I won’t tell you all of the secrets of this one, I will say the original was film, as it was taken before the days of digital, and when I converted it, I was finally able to achieve the image I envisioned. I darkened the image and enhanced the contrast to bring out the mood of the moment. By doing so, I was able to explore the boundary between sky and the dark above and below it.
"She Carries the Sun on Her Shoulders"
One year, some friends gave me the opportunity to explore nude photography. It was a challenge, to bring out the beauty of the human body, the curves and shapes and shadows, without the images becoming something tawdry. I shot outside as much as possible. Dawn was a time when the light was good, and not too many people would interrupt.
I am fascinated by the human curves: how they reflect the shapes in nature, and how those natural shapes reflect the human form. This similarity of shapes awakens the sense of the goddess in the land, the god in the tree. In the past, I have found the shapes in landscapes reminding me of the human body, with hips and breasts and bellies emerging in hills and stone formations. I wanted to capture that in reverse, how the curves of a human body can resemble landscapes or other shapes in nature. I tried to bring out the goddess in the women I photographed. In this one, I wanted to bring out the similarity between a shoulder and a horse’s back.
This image was from one of the dawn shoots, when the sun shone through dappled leaves, causing my model’s shoulder to glow with it, causing the small hairs on her skin to shine. The dawn light also brought a solar aspect to the image, and I adjusted the coloring to enhance this.
"Grain at First Light "
A business trip was the cause for me to drive through Wisconsin, but on the way back, I took the long way around. I had a free day or two after completing my task in Milwaukee, and I chose to drive up along Lake Michigan, and then along the smaller roadways back to Minneapolis. Because I dawdled along the way, stopping at a secluded beach to enjoy the sounds of the waters of the lake, and then enjoying a surprise lunch with an older woman who traded a homemade Italian meal for conversation, it had reached night before I was halfway across the state.
After a few hours’ sleep in a rest area, I left before dawn and drove, seeking a place to watch the sun rise. I found it at a small park, with a picnic table and a boat launch. The air was at the edge of crisp with a hint of warmth, and morning birds and insects added their occasional chorus. In this image, I chose a low perspective looking up, to capture the possibilities and joy and beauty of a solitary dawn.
"Serene Lake"
One of my main activities in the summer, if I have my way, is bicycling. I seek the freedom of movement, feeling the touch of air and taking in the beauty of Minnesota’s summer. The bike trail I rode on passed this lake, and I wanted to capture the sense of both privacy and openness. The opportunity to experience a secluded lake, feeling the breeze and hearing the water, birds and insects in the surrounding silence. This is a place I could imagine sitting, taking the time to connect to the sacred.