All posts tagged: Wonder

Illusion of Light: Journey Into the Unseen

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Inspired after writing about Antoine De Saint-Exupéry’s Wind, Sand and Stars, I was fortunate to come across Illusion of Light: A Journey into the Unseen, a beautifully shot time-lapse film trailer showcasing the night skies of the Sierra Nevada mountains and southwest deserts of the US. Watching this teaser for the full film expected to debut in 2017, I began to see why we as a species etch shapes and attach meanings to the wheeling heavens, why we constantly appeal to it for guidance and direction, and why we can be so awed as to dedicate our whole lives to teasing apart its mysteries. “Brad Goldpaint spent 3 years of creative exploration crafting visual metaphors which reflect aspects of existence that are often hidden from everyday sight. We interact with these miracles on a daily basis yet we are amazed at the infinite magnitude of our planet. We encourage you to raise your eyes towards the night sky. Explore. Realize you are a part of the illusion and the universe is a part of you.” – Vimeo video …

Mishchenko’s Macrotastic Wonders

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I’m a sucker for macro photography; maybe because I appreciate how it can reveal the extraordinary in the miniscule and  mundane. Recently, I came across the work of Ukranian photographer Vyacheslav Mischenko; his macros manage to capture the whimsical wonder that is the subject of the past two Ekostories. From kissing snails on cherry stems to toadstool sentinels standing guard over patches of dewy green, Mischenko’s work illustrates that a multitude of unnoticed realities exist in parallel to our own, and can be as enchanting as our minds’ most fantastical creations. For more absurdly astonishing photos, please check out his portfolio or visit his Facebook page. Related Ekostories: The Beauty of Water Droplets, by Andrew Osokin Pikmin 3 Photography All images © Vyacheslav Mischenko.

Ants on Bullhorn Acacia

Antspeak and Rocktalk: The Author of Acacia Seeds

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Last week I explored Amy Leach’s creative non-fiction and its appeal to wonder and imagination. This week, I would like to turn to fiction and highlight a fantastical tale that does the same. Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Author of Acacia Seeds and Other Extracts from the Journal of Therolinguistics takes place in the future, but does not dwell on new technologies or societies. Exploring the secret languages of things large and small, Acacia Seeds instead tasks my imagination to envision a wholly different way of relating to the world, to see familiar beings in a new light, and to expand my moral horizons to consider the greater community of which humanity is a part of. Deliciously satirical and ethically provocative, Acacia Seeds is one of my favourite works to read and reread, and a wonderful little Ekostory to celebrate Earth Day 2014.

Things that Are - Caterpillar

On Whimwhams and Wild Whats: Amy Leach’s Things That Are

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One of the reasons I took a break from blogging was to push myself to start reading again. But while I had a mountain backlog from great recommendations, I found myself not being in the headspace to explore new stories. For a while, I was worried that I might not find anything to spark my interest again.Then I stumbled onto this skinny, silly, crazy, exquisite little tome: Amy Leach’s Things That Are. As longtime readers of Ekostories know, I harbour a great fondness for several storytellers: Hayao Miyazaki, for his meticulous world-building and life philosophy; Michael Pollan, with his blend of Thoreau-tinged romanticism and candid introspection; John Steinbeck, for his warmth and compassion toward fellow beings; and of course, Ursula Le Guin, in her treatment of her craft as an ethical endeavour. Their writings and worldviews have in turn shaped my worldview and writing, and for that I hold them in high esteem. Leach has made her way into that select group. At once frivolous and profound, cosmic and intimate, silly and thought-provoking, each piece of …