Looking Upward

Walking through forests can feel overwhelming. Trunks, branches, and undergrowth gather densely, competing for attention. As both walker and photographer, I have often struggled to find simplicity within that abundance of detail.

On this day in Olympic National Park, I stopped trying to resolve the forest in front of me. Instead, I simply looked up.

The ground-level noise fell away. Tall trees rose with quiet order, their trunks aligning naturally along a vertical path. Light filtered through the canopy, revealing structure, rhythm, and space where moments earlier there seemed to be none.

What had felt crowded became calm. What had felt uncertain became clear. Sometimes clarity is not found by pushing forward, but by lifting your gaze, allowing yourself to pause, reorient, and see beyond what feels dense or unresolved.

Through Vertique, this upward view feels natural. The composition follows the trees as they rise toward light, transforming the forest into a living vertical landscape. Not a retreat from complexity, but a way through it.

The photograph holds stillness within scale, order within abundance. It is a reminder that perspective can change everything.