Tag Archives: color

Beauty in the photographs details: Hollyhock Chair Boat

There is so much in this photograph that I love.

The place itself I love. It is the Hollyhock Retreat center on Cortes Island in British Columbia, a beautiful, remote, and Magical, Transformative place, especially in the summertime. I first went there in 1978 And attended a 13 week long Resident fellow program with a different workshop each week. I attended a dream workshop where I learned that I was Dan, Dan, The rainbow man, a healer and a teacher. And for the last 45 years, I’ve lived being a Healer and a teacher. I learned about Quan Yen (or Kuan Yin),The bodhisattva of compassion. I learned it from John Blofeld, that Very British China convert, Who wrote so beautifully about Quan Yen (or Kuan Yin), and also  translated the I Ching. John Blofeld so enjoyed his afternoon tea :). I learned about the I Ching, and Tarot cards. And I learned from the wind, the trees, low and high tides, I learned from the lapping of the water, BJ, Whiskey and orange juice, early morning sunshine, the wonderful gardens, and even more wonderful vegetarian meals. I learned by working with Bill Glackman, now a lifetime friend, doing handyman work around the then COld Mountain Institute.

But what do I love about this picture! I love the early morning light, with the side-light and long shadows. I love the empty chair and the empty boat, both waiting for us/me/you.

I can feel myself sitting in that chair, with my eyes closed, warm, with the sunshine on my face and arms in the cool morning, and ever so gently, I feel a slight breeze. With each breath, I breathe in the light, salty smells of the sea. I hear the gentle lapping of water on the beach. I hear the bird calls of morning,  welcoming the new day. That chair is a place to simply be, mindfully and appreciatively.

The empty boat, red and white and waiting, Is not about mindfulness. The empty boat is about adventure awaiting! Come,Let us row away to adventure! Morning is the time for both contemplation and beginning of adventures! I love that in this photograph.

I love the colors, the greens of the grass and the tree. I love the shades of blues in the sea, and in the mountains across the sea.  I love the bands of lighter color blue on the water.

I love how small I am in that early morning light, And how big that quiet sea is,  and how the shrouded mountains are at the top the photograph.

I love the lines of the small waves, lapping towards the shore.

I love the juxtaposition of the living Green tree, the stump, and the wooden chair. Three stages of existence?

I love the variations between the rocky shore, The tidal zone with it’s small rocks and mud , and the two big rocks In the nearby shallow water.

When I look at this picture, I feel gratitude, the hopes of a new morning, The beckoning of mindfulness and adventure, and the sheer beauty of it all: colors, bands of blue and green, and waves, sea, trees, shore, chair, boat, and distant mountains… and ME!

Jubilee Trail Photos

I love the 3 mile walk from my home to the beach and back in the very early morning when rabbits and squirrels are on the trail, and people aren’t. The squish squish sounds of my feet on gravel. The clop clop sound of my feet on the paved part of the path. The greens of the forest, the coolness as I enter the woods. The snags, the sounds of birds, the emptying of my mind and the gratitude I feel. I love the Madrona trees with their red peeling bark, the tall evergreens, the snags, the blackberries, even the new development that is being built next to the quiet forest.

This was once a munitions loading dock area in WWII, a time gone now, covered by trees that don’t remember, and birds that sing, and flowers that open their secret  scents in the early morning light.

Click on any photo to see its caption.

Monet’s Garden Red Flower

Monet’s Garden was on my bucket list. I was so happy to visit it with Susan on a wonderful June day. So Beautiful! I’ll be posting many pictures from my amazing, beautiful, and magical visit there. This one is of a red flower so gorgeous it moved me with its beauty.

 

Favorite Photo: Rooster of Kauai

Rooster of Kauai

Roosters and chickens run rampant and wild all around Kauai after a storm many years ago. I love the colors, and lighting, and curves, and shapes of this rooster photo I composed during Susan’s and my  honeymoon in Kauai in 2008.

Favorite Photos: Fall 2013 at Bloedel Reserve, WA

Fall 2013 at Bloedel Reserve, WA

Click on any of the thumbnails to see an enlarged version, with description.

These photos were composed on a wonderful Fall late afternoon in the golden light of a beautiful, magical place, Bloedel Reserve in Washington, Near Poulsbo.

Here are the photos full size for your viewing pleasure.

Manifestations of Beauty: Green Lake Kayaker at Sunset

Green Lake Kayaker at Sunset

 

I love this picture I composed of Green Lake in Seattle at Sunset. The natural beauty of this lake in the middle of very busy Seattle, with its thousands of families, walkers, bicyclists, and people in their own worlds listening to music on their phones; the natural beauty is amazing, and what draws all these people here.

I did three versions of this picture, the first version is the original picture which has the space needle in the distance, as well as three transmission towers on top of the hills, and a streak of white light, which is the headlights of a car, at the water’s edge. In the second two versions I eliminated the transmission towers and streak of light so that the emphasis could be on the peacefulness, and meditation, of a kayaker on a beautiful lake at sunset.

I love the shapes and forms of the tree limbs that I used to compose this photo, reflections of light on the water, how still and reflective the water is, and the gorgeous colors, as this kayaker glides in the beauty of it all.

Dan Windisch Poems: Waterfalls and Mystics Rising

Waterfalls and Mystics Rising
by Dan Windisch 020214

Water thunder-tumbles down. Waterfalls.
Mist rises.

Waters falling;
mists and mystics rising!

Cycles of water elves whirling in mist.
Water-falling, mystics-rising!

And, I?
I and me meander,
mind floating,
in misty
rising waters.

That waterfall,
is me,
Reflects Me in my many rising and falling forms.

As I and We,
Walk,
Bye,

Waterfalls and mystics rising.

16X20 Snoqualmie Falls Poster

 

Click on the photo to see the full size picture on your computer!