Borrowing from Nature’s Artistry: Leo Greeley
Faculty and Staff Art Show
An Interview with Leo Greely, Web Services
Leo Greeley is a member of Operation Photo Rescue -- a non-profit worldwide organization that attempts to restore photographs that are damaged by natural disasters. Leo is also a member of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. His photographs are for sale, in the form of greeting cards and prints. He has been published in Harrowsmith magazine and was a featured gallery in Photoshop User. Leo’s dream photo assignment is to be hired by a biology department to document endangered species.
As far back as I can remember, I have always had a fascination, or more accurately, a deep reverence for everything that Mother Nature has to offer. Whether it was, as a teenager, going where no reasonable person would venture to watch the breeding ritual of water snakes in the swampy shore lines of the Ottawa River, lifting logs to see centipedes and wood bugs scurrying, or being jealous of the gift of flight the birds overhead had. I was humbled by the world that She included us in.I really can’t imagine going through any one day without noticing something that is anything short of amazing in the natural world. I watch as people get so wrapped up in their purpose that they fail to capture smiles and awe of what is around them. Just this morning, participating in my daily ritual of travelling the Queensway, I looked for where I knew deer had been gathering for the rut. Standing amongst brambles dripping in morning dew and surrounded by a veil of silver fog was a magnificently adorned buck. He was so immensely proud of how he looked and how he must strike fear in the lesser animals and desire in the females. I am sure very few people noticed, nor, did they get to carry that visual with them for the day. Such a shame for that moment to pass by. When someone tells you to “stop and smell the roses” I believe it goes far beyond that. I believe that by taking time to observe your world -- not just to look -- but, to look with respect and put yourself in perspective with regard to everything around you, it simplifies your purpose and calms your soul.
When you turn over your garden in the fall, put the worms back. Let the ladybugs take care of the aphids for you. Feed the birds, the butterflies and the animals. Just plain be respectful; when you clear your lot to build your home be aware of whose home you are destroying. See if you can move the milk weeds to the edge so that some monarchs will still be there when your children grow up. Let clover grow in the perfect lawn so that the rabbits will still visit in the evening when Mother Nature lays her blanket over her world and her creatures. Leave a row of camouflage for the deer to pass by as they so very much like to. Respect. That is what I try to do with my photography. I attempt to borrow from Mother Nature’s artistry and present it in such a way that those who view them will be encouraged to take a closer look at what is around them. I hope that by seeing a hawk soaring in one of my captures that they will take a moment to look into the sky. One of my favorite places is the forest floor; it is where the tiniest things become the most beautiful things. It is where everything that happens has a sequence and a purpose. And so much of our world begins there. My images of mosses, fungi and insects in the filtered light of the forest canopy would, I hope, persuade some to sit quietly at the edge of the forest as the morning light breaks and watch how it awakes. It is a magical time and one that brings you closer to whatever it is you believe in. It is like the beginning of time, each and every day.
Revel in what is different. I love the sight of a morphing milkweed with the sun peeking though it or a cattail that is all fluffed out near a frozen pond. I have one image I most often look at. It is an image of a lone tired goose during the fall migration that was so soundly asleep that she never noticed me being near. It was one of those quiet peaceful moments that have stuck with me for a long time. It gave me a sense of trust that I often see returned in the generations of white-tailed deer that visit my backyard daily for their Farm Boy castaway apples. When you are borrowing from the master of all artists, Mother Nature, your choices are unlimited.
My photography may not be technically perfect but it does capture what I find important. If it recalls a memory for someone, evokes a fantasy or story, inspires a hike or an observation for someone else, encourages someone to plant a garden butterflies would love to visit or even just shows that magnificent buck in all its pomp and stature, then I have been successful.
And if someone actually picks up a pen and writes a note on one of my cards then I have been blessed.
Visit my (soon to be updated) website http://www.accidentalsymetry.ca and leave me a comment, share with me your story.
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