August 25, 2025
A brief moment of light at dawn. I need it for motivation after a week of struggles, self-doubt, and modest results. A red-throated loon passes by above me with a fish in its beak. It’s time for breakfast.
By noon, the sky has turned overcast, and I wander toward the small tarns north of the lake. The landscape looks very different from when I was here in the spring.
A question keeps returning: Have I taken on more than I can handle with this project?
~August 26, 2025
Finally, the feeling of light and atmosphere I’ve been hoping for arrives. I’m out early at dawn, eager to begin. The morning seems to pass too quickly — I wish I could press pause and hold the moment.
When the light is at its finest, a golden eagle soars by. I don’t reach for the camera; I simply take it in.
I feel inspired and joyful. The Old Forest might really become something.
~August 27, 2025
I get up at 3 a.m. In the north, the sky glows. The blue shifts into orange near the horizon — night meets morning.
It’s cold; frost forms in the open. I paddle out into the dawn. Gliding across the water in the faint light and silence is a wondrous, almost otherworldly experience.
I come ashore on a small island and watch the light and the mist dance over the water. The moment is truly magical. The landscape shimmers before me. I make an image — maybe the first photograph for the print portfolio?
Later in the morning, three Siberian jays pass by and say hello. I greet them back.
~August 28, 2025
I wake to a partly clear dawn. I feel tired after two weeks, and my bones ache. I paddle slowly across the lake, taking my time. I’m in no hurry — rather the opposite.
A steel-gray sky with a hint of blue reflects in the lake to the west. The landscape feels endless — the lake, the forest, and the mountains beyond.
Then I hear it — the hauntingly beautiful call of a red-throated loon echoing through the silence of dawn. It stirs something deep inside me, adding kindling to the embers, and the fire comes to life once again. Through its song, I feel a deeper bond with the land. The eerie call flows into my soul. I stand there, enchanted.
