Forest in the Fall

My university years were a mix of discovery, stress, lonleness and joy. The campus where I studied was built on an incredibly large lot, surrounded by endless suburbs, adjacent to a park.

I lived there since the first day of school and never moved back. One lonely summer, while working on an animation project I went for a walk to clear my head. It was longer than usual as it led to the back of the campus where laid a "nature trail". A long forest strip that towered over a ravine looking down onto Credit River.

Since then I would always come back and meditate in my own way. Alone, free of thoughts; no poses or techniques. Sometimes my friends would come along. Years later I brought my girlfriend and we carved our names onto a tree. It's been a long time since; I now live on the other side of the world.

This place is still with me, in my heart. Sometimes I close my eyes and wonder, how high is that tree now? Can we still reach and touch our names in the bark?

This shot was possible with a special camera that took four shots at about half-a-second interval. The vertical strips are the result of a tiny shutter opening and closing, exposing the film one frame at a time as I panned the device across.