landscape envy

This is the optical illusion of space. This is me belly down in the wet grass. The fog and rain hugging me as I search for what feels like home. I walked away from here muddy-kneed and happy.

When I was twenty I packed up my belongings and moved myself across the country. A part of me has felt landlocked ever since. A part of me wonders if I will ever be happy until I live once again where the sand meets the sea.

On days when I miss the seagulls cry, when I miss the salty air … I do my best to recreate what it is I’m looking for.

This is that illusion. This equals staring off into a vast open space, the facade of solitude and quiet. This is where I go to find myself, ground myself, feel connected again and again.

Today, please share with us some of your surroundings, your landscape, what you see, and where you go. Today for a moment, let us live vicariously through each other's landscapes.

Comments

[Marcie]

Well...there's the awesome landcape of the Italian Riviera:
http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=1038
Or -the more familiar winter landscape of my life here at home:
http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=679

[Elizabeth Harper]

Here's a shot of my landscape today, both internal and external.

http://giftsofthejourney.wordpress.com/2010/01/19/watching-the-river-run/

[Simon Lawrence]

I love the simple composition and the soft hue, very beautiful photograph.

Si

[Beatriz Macias]

First, your photography and writing are beautiful, and they complement each other very well. Second, I am truly glad you featured my image on your post, as it open the door to your flickr pool of beauty and to this website, which I was not aware of. THANK YOU!

[Darlene]

What a beautiful post, Meredith - both your words and image. You have a gift I am so grateful you share with us here :)

This is my landscape, and it feeds my soul well:
http://www.whimsicalyearsphotography.com/blog/1301/my-landscape-maine-lifestyle-photographer/

[Chloe]

I have that same fear, of now living far from the sea and never having done so before. Water is essential to existence, but looking at this photograph that is so full...you're almost there again. Very well done.

[lucy]

such a quietly stunning photo! here's a piece of the landscape here (and a bit of salt air for you):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucyloomis/4274547333/

[Alyssa Hedge]

I seek the woods, the mountains, wide open sky and space. I too love space - it allows me to breathe out. Nature heals me and inspires me and so I am learning to escape to it whenever I can. Lately any body of water will do....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43406484@N06/4284573753/in/photostream/

[Sandra]

This is my landscape. A place that let's me breathe in deeply,keeps me sane when the day is too much.

http://artfullife.ca/?p=852

[Julie Alvarez]

I don't have much landscape around here, really. All buildings and asphalt. I don't like that very much. Until I see them under a different eye.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliealvarez/3903201401/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliealvarez/3253871866/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliealvarez/3946036753/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliealvarez/4061691853/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliealvarez/2913415717/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliealvarez/2913417679/
And of course, this is the landscape that I want to see everyday.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliealvarez/4189471034/

[elk]

meredith i especially like the gold field...sets of the tree in a magical way.

I took this from the passengers seat on the way to somewhere ...

http://redorgrayblackandwhite.blogspot.com/2010/01/00.html

[lee-ann]

the lake, frozen over. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4024/4284730015_aa948fde4b_o.jpg

[sarah - ji]

Oh, Meredith, I know what you mean. I was born in a city built on hills on a mountainous peninsula, and I often wondered why my father moved us to the flattest part of the earth. When there are massive and low cloud formations in the horizon, I pretend they are mountain ranges. Here, the ice and snow on a frigid Lake Michigan played that role for me: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sierraromeo/3331565901/in/set-72157606907145188/

[beth]

what great timing since I believe that right now I live in the most beautiful place ever....come visit me !!!

http://moredoors.blogspot.com/2010/01/i-hope-you-dance.html

[Grey Street Girl]

Such a gorgeous shot! Well done!

[Samantha]

I understand the allure of the vastness of the ocean, but I am a mountain girl at heart and am forever drawn to the secrets of the forest.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/48975751@N00/4288346022/

[Kimberly Creagan]

I understand completely. When I was 23 I moved from the midwest to Arizona. The desert has been a new and exciting experience for me, and I love the wide open spaces and grand mountains. But there is a piece of me that will always long for large bodies of water and the comforting embrace of tall trees.

This is what I love about Arizona: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimmus122/4205418636/

This is where my heart will always feel comforted: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimmus122/3630378158/in/set-72157619791187586/

[Michele]

Here is what it looks like here today in NH ....

http://michelesanteephotography.blogspot.com/2010/01/19365-will-it-ever-end.html

[Claudia@ DipityRoad]

Frosty mornings are cold------- Brrrrr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cwrightson/4287826253/

[Bree]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bleach226/4239054453/

[mandie]

This is lovely. My hubby just tried a shot like this the other day, but wasn't quite as successful.

[Anna]

It is rare that I feel like I 'experience' a photo. I entered right in to this one. Just marvelous.

[mary]

I actually posted about "my landscape" last month:

http://inasoftlight.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-landscape.html

[damiec]

I understand. I tried one summer in my midwestern college town to see if I could hack it, and I couldn't. I needed to be able to get to the ocean - even if I didn't go that often. It was a mental, not a physical thing.

I grew up on the East Coast just a few hours North of where I live now, and it's amazing how this slight change in latitude can change the view. The winter sky is different here, just a little warmer, which makes February go down much easier.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22487105@N06/4288152935/?edited=1

[Lis]

It has been a challenging winter here with record snow and cold temperatures. Never-the-less, my dog needs to be walked 3 times a day and thankfully I have been given opportunity to take in the quiet beauty of the season and of my neighborhood.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7724232@N03/4282716539/

[Anita Johnson]

I'm so glad I found shuttersisters!
I'm trying to embrace the beauty of the winter season, but I long for spring! It has been slightly warmer here in Wisconsin and we have been greeted by hoar frost for the last few mornings. It has been magical!

[Stacey]

I am land-locked again living where the prairie and mountains meet. For the two years that we lived in Vermont there was the knowledge that we could be at the ocean when we pleased, but we only went three times. So in Vermont we suffered from lack of horizons. It is beautiful full of rolling green and tight forests but no matter where you stand the earth rises up in front of you. I never truly understood the "big sky" concept until I left Colorado. Now that I have returned everyday I am aware of the space above and how the sky has it's own presence.

Winter
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8380970@N03/4289318684/

Summer
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8380970@N03/3834421393/

[Vicki]

On Sunday: http://decluttr.com/4283487417

[Liz]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilybeth29/2971892949/in/set-72157601163338911/

[J.]

I have a whole set from Sunday morning! Frosted fog - it was gorgeous outside.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kissmequikly/sets/72157623106527487/

[Kiesha]

Two views from my backyard.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39033996@N07/4289713570/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/39033996@N07/4255655468/

[Naveen]

My first visit to a place covered with fog at 2.PM in india. :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/46288512@N07/sets/72157623246665534/

[Elizabeth]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/elizabethmeier/4252351423/

[leaca]

I love walking in this park right down the road from our house. It is a little forest and the edge of it overlooks the ocean.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/leacayoung/4270046186/

[Trude]

Love that shot! Lots of rain here in SoCal lately, all the natives are freaking out like it's a hurricane or something! ;)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/trudem/4289691214/

[georgia]

oh, my! this is absolutely gorgeous. i love the softness and the rich color together. so so beautiful!

here is my landscape as of late. a winter sunset out in the country -- setting on a snow-covered field.
http://itsjusthowiseethings.blogspot.com/2010/01/challenge-no-22-at-four.html

[Deborah]

Your photo is beautiful! The browns of the landscape remind me of sand and make me wonder, if you could just walk far enough, would there be water to swim in?

Here is my landscape these days:

http://bit.ly/64wUrU

Blessings!
Deborah