Artist Statement

For me, photography and poetry are inseparable practices of attention—a habit of looking that opens what John Muir called “a doorway to a new world.” From solitary vantage points—kneeling close to woodland moss, wandering suburban garden beds, or looking out over the Atlantic at dusk—I aim to hold what is quiet, fleeting, and essential in the natural world.

In January 2020, I began photographing nature during daily walks, pairing images with lines of verse on Instagram. It started as a small meditation after loss—an effort to see the ephemeral beauty of seasons alongside the poems. When the pandemic brought isolation months later, the practice became a lifeline.

Through the lens, I watched the resilience of petals moving from tight bud to full bloom, the weight of rain and snow pressing on grasses, and mists drifting across sports fields and suburban streets, from which deer occasionally emerged like figures in a dream. Along the path came pollinators and companions of every kind: monarchs, bluet dragonflies, milkweed beetles, loud blackbirds, and the sudden spring chorus of peepers. In these encounters, the lines of poets echoed, and my own poems began to take root.

Selected from thousands of images captured on daily outings using a smartphone camera, the photographs gathered here span season, texture, color, and quiet transition.

Follow daily photo posts on Instagram: @poemrunnerink