Go into nature.
In real life. Or in your mind’s eye.
See the tree.
Stop.
Close your eyes.

Breathe in.
Breathe out.

Open your eyes. Look around.
Nature is all around you.
Can you feel her presence now?
In nature. Find peace.

The Eye of the Woods, a photographic journey by Eleanor Smith, is a nature photography and poetry book. I self-published the book at the beginning of last year. It’s the first in a planned series of three.

I am now working on the second one, Reflections on Water. More about that further down the page.

The Eye of the Woods, cover, 2023

The Eye of the Woods, 2023

The pandemic changed for two years how we lived our lives. Like many others, I felt a need to escape the depressive headlines and the stifling time spent working from home. Nature played a therapeutic role in my life; it offered me a sense of freedom in nature.

I found peace and time to think and to feel. This book is intended as an expression of that. I combine photography and writing with the goal of showing nature from her therapeutic side. I want to inspire others to stop, breathe, look around, and find peace.

In April 2023, I took my book to the Bergen Art Book Fair and I’m bound to drop by this year to see what’s on sale.

Extract #1: Dark roots entwined

Dark picture of the roots of an upturned tree

Dark roots entwined

From a certain angle
Are roots
Dead
Whereas from others
Are they alive

The dregs of life
Or the beginnings of life

Their free expression
Is undeniable
They reach out
Entwine

Protect
Or hold tight
Faces that appear
In the contrast
Of light and dark

What you see
Is up to you

An innocent face
Or a contorted
One

You choose

Table of contents

So what’s in the book?

5 chapters:

  1. Nature the healer: Where I go to heal
  2. Photography: See the world as though for the first time
  3. Deep in the woods: The beauty of the small things
  4. High up: Mountains tops and the harsh truth
  5. Faces speak: Capturing the unsaid

See the list of poems in the table of contents.

Table of contents, The Eye of the Woods

Table of contents, The Eye of the Woods

 

Time for another extract.

Extract #2: Stillness

Close up picture of a dead tree branch

Stillness

By all means go for a walk
It’s a great way to stay healthy
Get some fresh air
Gain some perspective
But when your brain is churning
You don’t notice what is around you
On the outside
You are not in your body
So much as in your mind (…)

Buy the book & share your story

Intrigued? Why not order the book? It costs NOK 150 plus shipping costs.

And do tell me:

  • How have you been connecting with nature recently?
  • How has nature had a healing effect in your life?
  • When did you fall in love with nature?

You can contact me here or via my SoMe platforms. Check out my Linktree.

Coming soon: Book #2 – Reflections on water

I am now working on the second book in the series, Reflections on water. I aim to find a publisher this time so it could take some time before the book is finished. In the meantime, I have set myself some deadlines, so I’d better keep writing!

Here’s a sneak peek of the chapters in the book.

  1. Water the healer: How it makes me feel
  2. Photography: See new worlds
  3. Abstract reflections
  4. Water in context
  5. Living on water

Extract: Painting in white

Two tree trunks at night in dark woods. There roots and the forest floor are covered with snow. A track can be seen in front of the two trees. Someone or something has walked past them.

Painting in white

Snow
Like drying paint
Immobilises
Its victim

Caught by surprise
Unable to move

Snow stops you
In your tracks

Wherever you have come to
Is where you were meant to be
From this place you shall not move
Less you are prepared for adversity
And filled with courage

Courage
Of an unbound nature
Fearless
And determined

You may well drop to your feet
Stop and heave
For this snow
Means to stop you

Stop you in your tracks
Stop you from going on

Where are you running to
Anyway?
Nowhere is better
Than the silence of the self

The tune of your own existence
As it passes by

This second book will alternate between English and Norwegian. Here is a taster for those of you who speak Norwegian.

En tur i skogen
I mørket
Når nysnø dekker alt

Alt står stille
Så veldig stille
Det er som en ny verden

Du kan puste her
Steg for steg
En fot om gangen

Et øye på bakken
Et øye som ser rundt
En fin balanse

Mellom å gå trygt fremover
Og å være der og da
Å være i øyeblikket

Det er på tide
Å finne en ny balanse
En ny hverdag
En ny verden

Livet har bare nettopp begynt

 

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And on Flickr for better photos taken with my camera!