I hadn’t been able to go into the woods in the early mornings in quite some time. Because of the work, I do throughout the week to serve others, my body was not keeping up with me, and I was running out of energy when the weekend or free days arrived.

My ankle has a terrible fracture from a few years ago that occasionally gives me pain since there is still some metal within. Additionally, it tested my ability to maintain calm and keep my cool throughout multiple planned hiking treks.
In order to capture the sunrise at 6 a.m., I planned to travel to a nature preserve today. Even though I had slept for only 4.5 hours, we tried it out. Since I knew the sun would offer a gloriously colourful morning perspective, my goal would be to arrive at some wide fields.

Lommel has a large heathland that would be great for photographing the beautiful sunset. I had already visited the Lommel natural reserve, a nearby village that would be great for shooting the gorgeous sunset.

I parked my wife’s car near the location I intended to photograph and began my short walk. But I was already surprised by one of the first things I noticed when I began my stroll. A deer was standing right in front of me and caught my attention.

I was able to picture it, and it brightened my morning. But that’s not all. The entire terrain was shrouded in the morning mist, making it look like something out of a storybook.

A second deer appeared out of nowhere, and I was once again able to picture it. What I already had in the morning, and a few metres ahead, a small bird singing the day to begin.

The labour was nothing, but spending 5 minutes in a forest or nature reserve and experiencing this made everything else fade away. Time stopped, and I was one with everything nature had to offer. As the images indicate, it would be the start of an inspiring morning.

The heathland was completely desolate. The sun flashed its bright stripes. Deers were yelling or warning each other about what was going on in the forest. Birds are waking up and chirping their way into the new day.

However, then…

I began to notice the tiny yet stunning things that appeared in front of me. Some photographs demonstrate how gorgeous it was to me.

The colour of the heather grass, the spiders in the misty morning, the little droplets of water on the plants… the details offer me calm. The peace I needed to begin a fresh, hectic week. The replenish myself with new vigour to assist individuals in their life struggles.
I began to trek a little more and carried my beloved Canon cameras along with my F-stop photography gear on the back, allowing the wonderful sights to come to me even more.

Enthralled by what I saw, I returned to my car parking space and took some more photos. The walk back took a while since the scenery kept drawing my attention.

It had been a long time since I had been able to reconnect with nature and capture these magical moments. I was more than glad to use all of my resources. I catch up on sleep throughout the day since the day is still long enough.

This morning was seized, and I embraced it in my heart as the forest carried me in its arms. After a few difficult weeks, I felt blessed and ready to show you some new things.

I hope you like the photographs that Mother Nature gave me.

Thank you