#70. When Grief Softens: Photography, Presence, and a Dream Returned

A Different Kind of June

In earlier years, I usually marked this day with a quiet walk in nature, camera in hand. That ritual has always helped me connect with what I’m feeling, even when I can’t quite name it.

But this year, the days looked different.

My Canadian host family - the one I lived with during two important chapters of my life - came to visit us in Norway. We shared mornings with coffee and cinnamon buns and told stories from years ago. After they left, I travelled to the Netherlands to sort through boxes and photos - some I kept, others I gently let go. That process of revisiting and releasing felt like a reset. Like making space for what’s next.

How Healing Nature Photography Supports Grief and Presence

At the Grønn Festival, where I showed my Earth Embrace photo series, someone asked me:

“What do you mean by healing nature photography?”

It’s not about the perfect shot or dramatic landscapes. For me, it’s about stillness. It’s about creating images that invite you to pause, to feel, to simply be. For me, it’s a way to reconnect - with nature, yes, but also with yourself. With something quiet and grounding. This is also what I’ll be teaching in my upcoming masterclass with Natuurfotografie.nl this fall. I call it the EARTH method: a gentle, intuitive approach that focuses less on technique, and more on what the image awakens in the viewer.

When a Dream Returns in a Different Form

Earlier this month, I received an email I wasn’t expecting.

 “One of your photos has been selected for the upcoming National Geographic photo exhibition in the Netherlands.”

Years ago, I scribbled something on the back of a beer coaster: “One day, I’ll photograph for National Geographic.” That dream faded as my work shifted from journalism to something softer, more emotionally true. And now, a version of that dream returns — not through an article, but through a photograph. One of my sunset images - Dalmatian pelicans in soft golden light - will be part of the exhibition.

What I Keep Learning

These weeks have reminded me that grief doesn’t pass - it moves with you. Photography remains my way of listening, both to the world and to what’s inside me. I hope my work offers others a moment of stillness, a quiet reminder that beauty persists even amid change.