March 02, 2010 - 1:19 PM

Missouri Botanical Garden Orchid Show

Title: "Purple Orchid Group"

Location: Missouri Botanical Garden, Saint Louis, Missouri

Title: "Tight Pink Camelia"

Location: Missouri Botanical Garden, Saint Louis, Missouri

Is anyone else out there ready for spring?  I couldn't take the cabin fever anymore, and decided to visit the Missouri Botanical Garden's annual orchid show in Saint Louis, Missouri. If you live or are passing anywhere near St. Louis, I highly recommend this destination. The MOBG is one of the best in North America. Founded by Henry Shaw in 1859, it is the nation's oldest botanical garden in continuous operation and a National Historic Landmark.

The orchid show this year is placed against a backdrop of murals depicting a French cafe and garden.  Although attractive, the murals are strongly upstaged by the orchids and surrounding vegetation. (For a video tour, please click here).  What you won't see here is the enormous amount of work that lies behind the show's production.  It takes over a year to plan and execute the show, where over 800 plants are on display and up to 100 plants are switched out each week with fresh ones from the gardens extensive greenhouses.

The MOBG collection of over 8000 plants representing over 2500 unique species is one of the largest in the United States.  Some Vanilla Orchids in the greenhouses date back to 1901!

When you walk into the show from the browns and greys of winter, it becomes nearly a sensory overload.  A winding path takes you through a layered display that takes many "laps" around to fully take in all there is to see.  From ground dwelling species to the epiphytic tree dwelling species above, each pass through the garden brings new discovery.  

I highly recommend this show which runs through March 28th.  Take a stroll through the orchid show, then go upstairs for lunch or coffee at the Sassafras restaurant, then take another pass through the orchids - I'm sure you'll find a cure for the winter doldrums.

P.S.  Also don't miss the Linnean Garden house, where hundreds of Camelias are in bloom.

February 23, 2010 - 10:10 AM

Peak Experience

Title: "Mud and Sunset"

Location: Canyon De Chelley National Monument, Navajo Nation within Arizona

I am conducting a research project and I would like to invite our blog readers to participate.  Quotes from responses will not be shared with anyone outside of Kevin Sink Photography without permission of the respondent. The content of the responses will be categorized and compared, and the resulting comparisons shared on this blog. I will post a full summary of the project when it is complete. Please answer the following question as honestly as possible:

A peak experience can be defined as a high point in one’s life, during which the person feels ecstatic and more alive and whole than is usual.  Another way to describe a peak experience is a time where you felt unusually positive, happy, and at ease or harmonious with the world around you.  Can you remember any specific examples of when you may have had a peak experience?  Please give a short description of the experience and where and when it occurred, and if you have more than one experience to share, please include them as well.

Responses may be sent to info@kevinsink.com.

Thank you for participating!

February 17, 2010 - 10:10 AM

A Memory Boost from Nature

Title: "Aspen Grove"

Locatiion: White River National Forest, Colorado

How would you like a 20% increase in your ability to remember?  For the most part my mind is a steel trap, but occasionally one or two facts are momentarily misplaced.  (I can hear my kids snickering & sputtering across the room.  I get no respect.)  OK, so I could use a 20% boost.  How do I sign up?

Professor John Jonides and graduate student Marc Berman published a fascinating study looking at how taking a walk effects memory.  Participants were given memory and attention tests prior to a walk.  When they went for a walk in an urban setting, there was no improvement in the post walk tests of memory and attention.  However, when they walked in nature (an arboretum), their post walk assessments showed a 20% increase in memory and attention.

What was particularly surprising was that the effect was still measured if the participants just looked at pictures of nature.  Looking at pictures of urban settings resulted in no cognitive improvement.

The results support the Attention Restoration Theory referred to in earlier posts.  It says that our minds can be attentive in essentially two ways.  One is a focused, direct attention on something we must pay attention to (work, school lecture, etc)  The other is an involuntary attention where your mind investigates something merely because it finds it interesting.  Long periods of directed attention result in fatigue, whereas involuntary attention is restorative.  As Mark Berman noted, “You don’t hear very many people say, ‘Boy, I really got tired out looking at that waterfall’”.

For a more detailed synopsis of the research, there is a very good article by Jack Penland on the ScienCentral website.

The original research was published in the journal Psychological Science, December, 2008.

Enjoy the articles!  Now I’m going to go for a walk, if I can find my coat! 

February 09, 2010 - 3:40 PM

Nature and the Present

Title: "Cloud Circle"

Location: Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada

I woke up driving to work this morning.  I hadn’t fallen asleep, but I wasn’t awake to what was happening around me; lost in planning for the future and in reviewing the past. Driving the same route had created a monotonous fog for my mind to drift in.   I was in a darkness to any beauty or message the natural environment was offering.  I’m reminded of a James Joyce quote,  "Mr. Duffy lived a short distance from his body."  (The Dubliners)

While waiting for traffic to clear, a dramatic light finally penetrated my train of thought; the warmth of the rising sun gleaming in gamboling clouds. The light and movement of nature awakened me to a beautiful moment amidst the rat race of getting to work. Here is where I would like to make a tie to the discussion of why nature art enjoys such broad popularity.  Nature photographs remind us of the richness of being fully present, awake and aware.

A photograph is a two dimensional reflection of a precise moment in time.   In our busy lives our minds are pulled, jerked and strained by expectations and hypotheticals.  Stopping our lives to observe a moment with inquisitively vigilant senses is not only rare, it carries a stigma of being unproductive, as if we will quickly fall behind by embracing such trivial foolishness.  Somebody might honk their horn at us!

Looking at a photograph, where the world is still, makes observing the moment accessible, socially acceptable and inherently gratifying.  The two dimensional image resonates in our mind to build a multidimensional experience.  This experience is particularly pleasurable if the image invokes memories of past peak experiences. 

I need to research this more, but in asking a number of friends and family what experiences in their past invoke the most positive, relaxed, and joyful memories, a large proportion of those experiences took place outdoors.  A poignant comment was, “All of my fondest childhood memories are of times spent outside climbing trees, in the lake and such.”

Times spent outdoors not only conjure feelings of being connected to a life sustaining environment, but they also remind us of times when we fully experienced the moment.  Hurrying into the future was gladly allayed by all sharing the experience.  In short, we participated in being truly alive.  A well composed nature photograph or painting opens a window to the visceral memories of those peak experiences.

“Hold to the now, the here, through which all future plunges to the past.”  James Joyce, Ulysses

February 02, 2010 - 8:55 PM

Nature Art in the Emergency Room

Title: "Dogwood in Morning Mist"

Location: Lake of the Ozarks State Park, Missouri

 I took a family member to an emergency room over the weekend.  Nothing serious as it turns out, and we thankfully went back home the same day.  The hospital had recently added on new construction and the emergency department was less than two years old.  Very modern architecture, lots of windows letting in sun, and lots of framed nature photographs on the walls!  It gave me a chance to experience first hand as a family member of a patient what this new hospital experience was like and how the art contributed to the experience.  

  This was initially an anxious situation.  As we walked down the hall from triage to waiting room, we were "greeted" with the first set of nature photographs in the hallway.  The architecture and color scheme were bright and modern, but a bit austere. The artwork definitely softened the hard edges of the place.

 As we sat in the waiting room, it was very comforting and somehow reassuring to see the nature scenes.  Here was a place where life and death were in struggle, and death often wins.  Emblems of life hung on the walls.  One thing nature photographs represent for me is the incredible tenacity and determination of life in nature.  "Death may sometimes win here, but we are tenacious about healing and living life" seemed to be the underlying message.  

  It goes without saying most hospitals would rally around dedication to healing and health. It is not so common for hospitals to look at the process of healing with the cutting edge theories of evidence based design.  The unique branding message here is that these artwork choices indicate the hospital is willing to go beyond excellent clinical care and deliver the best overall healing experience.  They’ve even looked at how art and other amenities can contribute to the health and well being of the patient and their families. 

  In the competitive healthcare market today, going beyond the normal expectations of care is becoming the new benchmark.

Here is a list of the effects and advantages of using Evidence Based Artwork such as certain types of natural landscape photographs: (more on which types in later posts)

- Create a healing and hopeful environment

- Relieve stress associated with a healthcare environment

- Reflect and enhance the hospital’s image through amenities of design and architecture

- Address a culturally and regionally diverse population

- Reflect overall standard of excellence

- Reduce pain

- Reduce blood pressure

- Improve patient satisfaction

- Benefit for employees (reduced workplace stress, improved satisfaction, improved capability of the workplace   to attract and retain qualified employees)

- Cost savings by improved medical outcomes (reduced intake of costly strong analgesics)

(The above list was compiled from two sources: 1. Hathorn, K. & Nanda, U. (2008).  “A Guide to Evidence Based Art”, Center for Health Design publication.  2. Ulrich, R.S. (2001). Effects of healthcare environmental design on medical outcomes.  In A Dilani (Ed.) “Design and Health: Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Health and Design”. Stockholm, Sweden: Svensk Byggtjanst, 49 -59.

January 25, 2010 - 11:57 AM

Why does nature art have such a universal appeal, and therapeutic effects? Post Two

Title: "Panther Road Clouds"

Location: Chase County, Kansas

 OK, so let’s empathize with a patient in a hospital room.  You’re sick, weak, irritated, feeling trapped, and bored.  (Some jobs are like that!)  With many illnesses, you have “waves” of feeling better, then feeling worse.  In one of those “up” times, you notice a nature scene framed on the wall, and for a few moments become lost in pleasant thoughts and memories inspired by the picture.

  In Kathy Hathorn & Upali Nanda’s article  “A Guide to Evidence Based Art” they mention Rachel & Stephen Kaplan’s research on attention restoration theory (1).  This theory helps explain the positive effect of nature art.  In that hospital bed, you more than likely don’t want to be there, and feel trapped physically, but also emotionally trapped in thoughts about your predicament.  

The Kaplans would refer to this as stressful directed attention.  Their theory postulates that nature images interrupt the stress by distracting the viewer with characteristics of:

- being away (to an idyllic place, not in the hospital!)

- fascination (nature’s intricate details offer a magnetic appeal)

- extent (images of trails and paths offer a direction to the idyllic place)

- sense of connectedness

- compatibility

I thought about the above while on a run on a beautiful country road in western Oklahoma this last weekend.  The sense of connectedness rung particularly poignant.  Our memories of being outside involve all of our senses: 

- the breeze against our skin

- the fresh air filling our lungs (how often does this happen in the hospital or even at work?)

- the smell of wet soil after a spring shower

- the sound of the birds flying overhead

- the sight and feel of warm sunlight on the terrain and on our backs

These memories are more than achieving a connectedness to something outside the hospital room or work environment.  They are instruments of power and vitality.  Often our memories of feeling most alive and healthy are associated with being outside in nature.  The power of nature to heal itself is rooted in tens of thousands of years of evolution in the human body and its interactions with the natural world.  

Those visceral memories give us a direct connection and confidence in the natural healing processes at work.  We subconsciously remember our pathway to health and vitality is through nature itself.

1. Kaplan, R., & Kaplan, S. (1989). The experience of nature: A psychological perspective, New York: Cambridge University Press

January 19, 2010 - 9:57 PM

Why does nature art have such a universal appeal, and therapeutic effects?

Location: Wabaunsee County, Kansas

   In an article for the Center for Health Design, authors Kathy Hathorn and Upali Nanda do an excellent job summarizing the theories and research behind, and best practices for choosing art for the healthcare environment.  (A Guide to Evidence-based Art)

The article references four different studies that demonstrate a preference for nature art in the healthcare setting.  They also reference ten different studies where nature art had either an analgesic effect or a stress reducing effect.

  Why does nature have the above effects?  Nature art is enormously popular outside the healthcare environment as well.  Why is this so?  I will present some of the theories by experts, and a few of my own ideas.  

  I am by no means an academic researcher, but I have spent a large portion of my 50 years hiking, backpacking and photographing in nature.  The culmination of these experiences and my experience with the artistic process may offer an interesting perspective.  The goal of any discussion would be a more illumined picture of how nature has its therapeutic effect, and in the end perhaps contribute to making the healthcare environment more nurturing.   This first post will be a discussion of one of the most common theories as described in the above article.

Evolutionary Theory

  Hathorn & Nanda summarize this theory as follows: “...in survival of the species, humans have developed an affinity for the natural world that has sustained them.  Subject matter that is often associated with this evolutionary theory are works that depict “savanna landscapes”. 

Since prehistoric humans are thought to have evolved over millions of years in the savannas of east Africa, the hypothesis is that the characteristics of this landscape have been “hard wired” as a visual archetype into our current artistic sensibilities.  This is supported by studies that find savanna landscapes are preferentially selected over other landscape types. Ulrich, R. S. “Biophilia, Biophobia, and Natural Landscapes.” in S. A. Kellert and E. O. Wilson (eds.), The Biophilia Hypothesis. Washington, D. C.: Island Press, 1993.

The open country character of savannas offers a clear view of the surroundings and potential predators, and the canopied trees offered shelter from the sun.  In essence, “people are drawn to those same natural images in art today that represented shelter and protection to their ancestors.” (Hathorn & Nanda)

My experiences in nature leads me to embrace Hathorn & Nanda’s statement, “people are drawn to those same natural images in art today that represented shelter and protection to their ancestors.” There are very few more powerfully positive emotions than finding food, warmth, and protection after being exposed to an exhausting period of the lack thereof in a threatening landscape! 

Having had several stints in wilderness without food or shelter, and having been in situations where I wasn’t sure I was going to make it out, I can think of two very powerful characteristics these situations possess.  First is a very strong tendency for “woods shock”.  This condition is best characterized by an overdose of the fight or flight response; so much so it clouds good judgement.  A very focused effort is required to keep woods shock from escalating into a life threatening situation.

The second characteristic manifests when you successfully take control, by creating a situation of equilibrium and comfort with the materials at hand.  Finding food by catching fish, finding a rock overhang for shelter, and wood for a fire all contribute to a nearly ecstatic sense of relief, power, and self-sufficiency.  It's almost as if the severity of the threat creates a proportionately magnified sense of relief.  The further up “wood shock hill” the adrenaline takes you, the greater the ecstatic sense of relief when you fall back into the valley of comfort.  

Life on the ancient savannas of east Africa had to be filled with many terrifying threats, but as the inhabitants became more skilled and adapted to the environment, the sense of familiarity and security amidst the danger must have been a powerfully positive emotion. Perhaps the wave of positive emotion associated with the avoidance of tragedy was an evolutionary tool of natural selection.  Individuals that developed the gratitude and joy associated with near survival perhaps learned the lessons the environment had to teach with more efficacy.

 Associating the sights of grasslands with widely spaced trees could trigger these intrinsic positive emotions.  In any event, savanna landscapes are beautiful to look at!

January 12, 2010 - 1:12 PM

Nature and R & R

Location: Buchanan County, Missouri

Location: Buchanan County, Missouri

In my last blog post I cited research that documents the positive effects of nature on people’s relationships, health, and views about their work.  To convey this therapeutic effect here in this blog, it would be beneficial to understand why nature has this positive impact.  If we have a sense of the why, then the images shown, and the discussions presented can be fine tuned to maximize this and other positive effects of nature. 

The Value of Rest

Rachel & Stephen Kaplan’s research has indicated that views of nature are beneficial for relieving mental fatigue.  (Kaplan and Kaplan. 1989. The Experience of Nature.  New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.) Often a consequence of mental fatigue is a “cluttered mind”, where details and deadlines overwhelm orderly thought.  I thought of this as I watched the latest winter storm cast down a thick blanket of snow over the surrounding terrain, softening sounds and burying textures under glistening white.  A blank canvas now covered all the details of a resting winter landscape.  The pristine white blanket of snow was the perfect antithesis of a cluttered mind.

Winter is a time of rest.  What better example of the positive, healing effect of nature than one of rest?   The cycle of activity and inactivity is ubiquitous in nature, and for obvious ecological benefit.  Daytime and night, and the field left fallow are tangible examples.   We are creatures of nature, and our biology needs this same rhythm of activity and rest.  

How many times have you worked long and hard on a problem, and when forced to take leave of it, the answer comes like a flash out of that period of rest?  The break from the puritanical push to get things done has a definite bearing on productivity.  Here is an excerpt from an interesting article in Businessweek, May 21, 2007:

“Refusing to take time off burns people out and wreaks havoc on productivity. Vacation deprivation is one reason workers are reporting more mistakes, anger, and resentment at co-workers, according to the Families & Work Institute.

Former NASA scientists, working on behalf of Air New Zealand and using testing tools normally reserved for astronauts, recently found that vacationers experienced an 82% increase in job performance post-trip.”

When we are sick, the idea of rest meets no resistance, in fact we may chastise ourselves for not getting more rest in the first place!  So as we launch into this new year of 2010, we can see the beginnings of an economic recovery, but also an economic climate full of volatility.  The impulse is to work more, faster, and  harder when Americans already work more hours than any other country on earth. (statistics from the International Labour Organization)  As the above study shows, more is not necessarily better. Taking time off takes discipline to prepare for, but the benefits are worth it.  On our death beds, how many will wish they worked more?

  Enjoy the pictures above of the landscape at rest, take the cue from nature, and give yourself permission to take time off, without the Blackberry or iPhone!  Your thumbs need the break!

January 04, 2010 - 8:26 PM

New Blog Theme

Title: Happy Buddha, Four Seasons

Location: My backyard

Happy New Year to everyone!  I thought I would start this year’s blog with a work in progress.  You may have noticed that the picture title references four seasons, but there are only two pictures ..... so far!  Look for the others in upcoming posts as the seasons roll along.

New Theme

I am a big believer in the concept that nature can be a profound restorative, healing force in our day to day lives. Our pace, workload, and reliance on technology seem to be isolating us further and further from the natural world.  My photo shoots in nature often last two weeks or more, where I spend the vast majority of time in wilderness.  I found over and over again, I would come back tired from the exertion, but with a profound calm and peace of mind.  Turns out this restorative aspect of nature has been scientifically documented in a growing body of research.

Above I referred to feeling rejuvenated and restored when coming back from a long photo trip in the wilderness.  As it turns out, research has shown that a certain degree of this effect can be achieved much more simply.  Rachel and Stephen Kaplan, professors at the University of Michigan, have done extensive research in the field of environmental psychology, particularly on the effect of nature on people’s relationships and health.  Their work has shown that people that have a view of nature at work are happier and healthier at work.  The view didn’t have to be spectacular.  Even a mundane view was shown to lift people’s moods and enhance their ability to focus.  (Kaplan and Kaplan. 1989. The Experience of Nature.  New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.)

One of the theories behind the Kaplans' research has to do with “attention restoration theory”.  They have found that too much focused attention can lead to mental fatigue, and a proven remedy is found in exposure to nature.  

As we look at a new year of rewarding challenges and big work loads, we will undoubtedly run into some “mental fatigue” as we travel around the sun yet another time.  I was drawn to photograph the stone Buddha on my back patio in all four seasons as a reminder of the calm, happiness and gratitude etched on his face as he sits out in nature.  (I should have the spring and summer versions to complete the composite in about six months!)  I hope this blog and the images and content provide a therapeutic window to the healing power of nature.

November 12, 2009 - 4:55 PM

The Creation of a Finely Crafted Landscape Photograph (Part One)

Title: Snead Hill Sunset

Location: Konza Prairie, Riley County, Flint Hills Region of Kansas

Link to more information:  http://kpbs.konza.ksu.edu/

Some Surprising Facts About My Workflow

In discussing my art work with clients, I often get asked the same questions about the creative process behind a particular print.  The answers are often surprising to people.  Here are some insights into my work:  

Importance of Scouting

Very often, a fine print will be the result of going to a place not just 3, 4, 5 times, but over a period of years in different seasons.  A hunch that an area has potential has to be nurtured and worked with patience, and in a collaborative spirit with nature. It’s much more time consuming than people think.  Scouting for pictures often takes up 90% of my time in the field.  There may be some experimental shooting, but it’s more for research than with any idea of a print coming from it.

Sometimes serendipity steps in an hands you a great scene with very little scouting if any. These are definitely the exceptions to the rule.  When it does happen, I attribute it to the good karma of paying my dues with lots of scouting on other occasions that didn't turn up any shots!

Importance of Peak Light and Timing

With many of my photographs, the shutter is released only at the precise moment where the light, clouds, or some other ephemeral event is at its peak expression.  Many times this time window of opportunity will be under a minute per day, or less.  This is where the scouting comes in.  To be at the right place at the right time often requires a lot of trial and error. 

Sometimes it feels like trying to juggle many balls in the air with your hands tied - you can’t change the wind, the sun, etc, but just one small adjustment would make the difference between a truly exceptional image and a mediocre one.  If you look at many great landscape paintings, this peak moment is often a dominant part of the composition.

Importance of Visualization

Most often during the scouting process, the light is far less than optimal, and you have to use a compass to plot the angle of the sun at other times, what the scene would look like at dawn, with fog, with partly cloudy skies, etc. You have to literally paint a very precise picture in your mind of what would be ideal.  This takes a lot of practice and patience, and is most often done with the camera still in the car or backpack. 

Sometimes I think an observer would find my actions in the field very curious: “What is that man doing with the compass over there and he’s just standing there for long periods looking around!  Is he lost?  Has he escaped from a hospital?  Why is he crouching and tilting his head this way and that?  Why did he just climb on top of his truck?”  I actually gave up a long time ago worrying what people thought of me while shooting!  I get lost in the visualization process that absorbs all of my attention.

Importance of Spontaneity

Weather and sun govern my shooting life.  Neither of these check my personal schedule to coordinate convenient times.  Very often I have to suddenly drop all business plans, appointments, leave family plans in tatters and jump into the field.  It makes no sense to work so hard on the visualization and scouting to then abandon an opportunity at peak light and season. 

Another occasion for spontaneity is when you place yourself at the scouted location at peak light.  No matter how good you are, you can’t previsualize perfectly.  So many times I will get to a position early, wait, wait, and wait some more then all of a sudden I have to make many last minute adjustments due to an unanticipated shadow, cloud formation or the like and have to scramble to plan B.  This can be very nerve wracking because 90% of the elements are in place, about to fade and I have to move frantically to capitalize on the situation or miss it entirely. 

This also takes a lot of practice.  The tendency is to get terribly frustrated and panicky, not think well and make bad compositional decisions.  Many bad experiences like this teach your eye and visualizing powers to come up with more options during scouting and an ability to improvise during the very rapidly changing light.  The many variables that create spectacular conditions are often very fleeting and can prove to be mischievously exasperating.

Importance of "Distillation"

On almost every shot, I will frame the composition, get it entirely ready to shoot, and then I will take my eyes away from the viewfinder and take a few seconds of a break.  I will then ask myself, "What am I really taking a picture of here?", "Is there anything in the viewfinder that is unnecessary or intrusive?"  These questions help "distill" down the content of the frame, often making me move closer or other small camera position adjustments to refine the composition.  It's one thing to see a feeling or idea in the landscape, but to convey it convincingly in a rectangular viewfinder often requires this honing in exercise.

Importance of Gratitude and Joy

For me, this may be the most important of all.  I feel an intense kinship and bond with the natural surroundings as I scout and shoot.  Despite the difficulties, I love the explorations, the discoveries, the conversation with nature, and especially the feeling of completeness and contentment after a long hard day in the field where I have pushed myself beyond where I thought I could go.   Many times the best shots  happen when I really, really wanted to quit for the day but kept pushing on and found some incredible scene!

All of my landscape pictures are taken from a place of ecstatic joy I get when I listen to what nature has to say to me, rather than what I can “take” from the landscape.  In this sense, all of my pictures are collaborations with nature.  I carry the gear, and she tells me what to shoot.  I guess I’m a hired hand!