Jack Brady<\/p>\n
Shadows Dancing<\/p>\n
Chapel Hill, NC this February 1, 2018<\/p>\n
Visuals that have manifested before me and have been captured by the click of my cameras shutter to share.<\/p>\n
Many of us find peace and serenity when we are immersed in the beauty of Nature. \u00a0Whether alone in the deep forest, lying on the sand staring up at the ever changing clouds before you, or perched on a rock beside a cascade of water falling from high above, Nature is Alive!<\/p>\n
To present before you scenes from Nature that elicited an emotion at the moment in time before me is my mission, and the camera is my tool of choice.<\/p>\n
Fortunate to have traveled the World, always with my camera at my side, has been one of the gifts in my life. Whether on a business trip, or a true adventure with no agenda other than to immerse myself in the beauty of a given topography, the camera is how I try to convey what I felt, and to hopefully elicit a like feeling within you.<\/p>\n
As you may notice during a review of my images found here, I am particularly drawn to Clouds, the Sea and Shadows.\u00a0 The rays cast by the sun through the clouds at sea after a storm or in a remote wilderness location are just one of the beauties of Nature I feel we all can sense and appreciate. The flow of water across the earth, as a creek in the forest or the falls from on high, here you can sense not only the interplay of light in the scene but possibly hear the sound of the water as it trickles or falls before you.<\/p>\n
Yet there are times where just a shadow cast upon a wall in a room gives a sense of peace to each of us, if we just stop for a moment and choose to live in the beauty of that instant.<\/p>\n
Such is my inspiration to share just a little of what I have seen with each of you. I hope my efforts solicit a hunger within yourself to Explore.<\/p>\n
Shadows Dancing began as a simple act of seeing, feeling what my Soul saw, not just the optics of my mind.<\/p>\n
A shaft of light after a storm. Clouds opening above the sea. Water moving through stone. A forest path held in stillness. A shadow crossing a wall with more grace than anyone could have arranged.<\/p>\n
These are brief moments. Most pass unnoticed. A camera, at its best, allows us to pause beside them a little longer.<\/p>\n
Nature has always carried a common language for me, I reflected what I witnessed, sensed, smell, encapsulate within. And in my mind, Nature reflected me.<\/p>\n
In forests, along coastlines, in mountains, near falling water, or under a changing sky, there is a stillness that is not empty. It is alive. It does not shout. It waits for us to slow down enough to receive it.<\/p>\n
The photographs on this site are my attempt to share some of those encounters.<\/p>\n
I have been fortunate to travel widely, both through work and through personal exploration. Wherever I went, my camera was always at my side. Sometimes the setting was remote and grand. Sometimes it was ordinary and nearly missed. Over time, I found myself drawn again and again to clouds, the sea, water, light, and shadow – not simply as subjects, but as carriers of feeling, reflections again of “self”.<\/p>\n
A photograph succeeds for me when it does more than show what was there. It should invite the viewer to feel something of what was present in that moment: peace, solitude, wonder, memory, longing, or perhaps only the desire to look again.<\/p>\n
That is the spirit of Shadows Dancing as I conceived Her, and I see Her.<\/p>\nI do not offer these images to become the product. I offer them as traces – evidence of places, moments, and emotions that passed before me and asked to be noticed.
\nMy hope is that, somewhere in these pages, you may find an image that causes you to pause, breathe, remember, or explore.
\nThank you for spending time here.
\n– Jack Brady\n
<\/p>\nAbout “Seeking, To Be Found” \u00a9:<\/strong> Some pieces were written from joy. Some from grief. Some from solitude. Some from bewilderment. Others came from places I would not wish another person to know, though many eventually do.<\/p>\n The title itself matters to me. The comma is not accidental. It holds the pause between seeking and being found.<\/p>\nEach poem is paired with an image, not as decoration, but as a compliment carrying the same essence. The intent is not to explain a feeling, but to create enough space for the reader to encounter one. The book was published in March 2021 and may be reviewed at:<\/p>\n
\nFor a time, my poetry and images lived together within Shadows Dancing. Eventually, that work became its own book and its own place.
\nSeeking, To Be Found is a collection of words and images drawn from moments in life that required expression. In creating my book, I was amazed as \u00a0I created the writing onto the left side of the spread, ALWAYS an image that carried the same visual “words” came to me!\n
\nSome writings may bring comfort. Some may bring a tear. Some may leave the reader uncertain at first. What each person feels will depend partly on what they have lived, and partly on whether I succeeded in carrying the original emotion into words.\n