I stayed behind on a photo walk and wandered a quiet forest trail at Dungeness Wildlife Refuge. This post is about that unexpected moment of stillness and how photography helps me reconnect with what matters.

Lately, life has felt nonstop. Between work and obligations, I lost track of my own breath. This photo and the poem that followed are a reminder that sometimes the best direction is simply to pause and be present.

A quiet moment on the trail from Storm King Ranger Station to Barnes Creek where ferns, evening light, and a slow kind of becoming offered a reminder I didn’t know I needed.