Off to the Side - Exploring Other Paths
Off to the Side - Exploring Other Paths
By: a.d. elliott | Take the Back Roads - Art and Other Odd Adventures
Today, my thoughts have been drifting toward the philosophical, and I found myself editing a photograph that seemed to echo that mood.
The image shows a narrow path running along the side of a bluff, weaving over jagged rocks and matted leaves from last year, with a small waterfall spilling across the trail. I remembered noticing that side cascade during our most recent hike and wanting to photograph it, even though doing so felt… ambitious.
It had been raining that day, and not just a little. Weeks of steady rain had soaked the forest so thoroughly that the ground had taken on that strange, buoyant feeling, as though the entire woodland floor were floating. Each step felt tentative, like walking across an air mattress stretched over a lake.
The rocks were slick with moss, and I leaned heavily on my trekking poles. And, of course, my imagination supplied its usual chorus: I was absolutely convinced that there were copperheads under every rock and beneath every pile of leaves. (I am always convinced of this, regardless of evidence.)
Still, despite the slippery footing, the imagined serpents, and the general sense of uncertainty, the place was breathtaking. The sound of water, the saturated greens, the quiet intensity of it all, I could have stayed there indefinitely.
It struck me then how much it resembled life.
A narrow trail through something undeniably beautiful, taken during a storm, with unstable ground underfoot and dangers both real and imagined lurking just out of sight. Progress is slower. Attention sharper. Every step is deliberate.
Naturally, Fish simply thought it was pretty, and wished he’d brought a hat.
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About the Author
a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller traveling through life
She shares her journeys at Take the Back Roads, explores new reads at Rite of Fancy, and highlights U.S. military biographies at Everyday Patriot.
You can also browse her online photography gallery at shop.takethebackroads.com.
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