Organic Light Pan

On October 14, 2009, on one of the worse rain storm days I can remember in a long time, I was involved in a devastating accident where I hit another car from behind on Highway 280 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The accident resulted in both of our cars as a total loss. I thank God that no one was seriously injured.

Accident Aftermath

This incident has left me full of deep remorse for disrupting the lives of so many people, my family included. My truck, a 2000 Toyota 4Runner, was a critical asset of Organic Light Photography as it provided transportation to and from photography jobs, and trips into the wilderness areas that I photograph, as well as being the workhorse in pulling a trailer filled with the show equipment I use at art shows and exhibits where Organic Light Photographs can be seen, enjoyed and purchased.

Needless to say I need to purchase another truck that can replace the loss. The whole incident has left me very shaken up. Of course any accident like this is bound to do so, and it is difficult to get past it without wondering what it all means. It is diffcult not to wonder if I had just braked a little sooner, or if I took that risk of veering into another lane if that would have averted the collision. But we can “what-if” ourselves to no end with no real benefit. What has happened has happened and it cannot be undone. When a calamity occurs, we need to find the courage in ourselves to stand up, dust ourselves off, forgive ourselves for our own inability to control things outside of our sphere of influence and find the wisdom in what has happend so that we may hopefully grow as thinking conscience individuals.

We are living in trying times. Tribulations seem to be coming upon us collectively as a society from all sides and as often as we blink our eyes. We tend to feel somewhat sheltered however when it is not happening directly to us, but the truth is that it is actually happening to other fellow human beings somewhere. Everyday someone somewhere is in a car accident, or a family member dies, or someone loses their job, and the list goes on. I am sure you don’t drive down the freeway without seeing at least one wreck a week.

The funny thing is that the traffic that results from drivers slowing down at the scene of an accident always upset me. It is a pet peeve of mine seeing all those “rubber-neckers” slowing down to get a glimpse of what happened, as if they did not have enough drama in their lives already, or enough violence as portrayed through the media that they just needed to see a little more of it so that they can get their fix.

But it has occured to me how incredibly insensitive I have been – not to the rubber-neckers, they still bother me, but to those afflicted individuals involved in the accident. The possible loss of life and property, lost earnings due to injury, the sorrow, the regret , the remorse – somehow did not occur to me. It was as if I was oblivious to all this. This was not the first accident that I have been in. When I was 16, I was in an accident with my first car, a Chevrolet Chevette, and it was pitted against a full-sized behemoth Lincoln Continental, yeah, no mystery there as to which car came out the loser. But I guess in the last 30 years I forgot what it was like being in an accident. I hope I never forget again. For when the world crashes for one person we should feel like it is crashing for all of us. In this way we can always feel compassion for those who are living through any tribulation and always express our gratitude for when we are not and showing patience when we are.

Please be safe out there this Autumn as the roads will be slick and slippery with water and snow as storms move through. The beauty of Autumn should not be overshadowed by the gloom of dealing with accidents.

Peace and Tranquilty to you all.

~ Youssef

After The Rain was a photograph I made back in 2003 down in Southern California during the wildflower bloom on the Gorman Hills. It was the most extensive wildflower bloom on record there in Gorman. A similar bloom occured in 1992, but not as extensive. The hills run for about 7 miles along Gorman Post Road which parallels Hwy 5. For the entire lenght of Gorman Post Road and from the base of the hills to the top, it was socked in color like that seen in this image.

I decided to drive down from the San Francisco Bay Area on Easter weekend with the notion that on Easter no one would be out and about, as it was a family day and a religious holiday that would be observed. Well I was sorely wrong. However, my actual intention was not Gorman, but the John Gavrillis who had also photographed the extensive bloom at Gorman and had THIS photograph on display as 40″x50″ enlargement. It certainly was quite impressive to see. I asked when he had taken it and he told me Saturday, the day before I was there. I told him I had the same photo – you know how we photogrpahers like to hear that from other photographers – and he chuckled and said ahh huh! I invited him to my booth and pointed at my version and he said wow, that is better than mine. We walked back to his booth and I pointed out where in his composition you could see mine. We both had a good laugh.

After the Rain has been my number 1 runaway best selling image. To me the photo speaks to what gratitude is truly about. These hills are dry and yellow for most of the year. Even in winter and spring they sometimes don’t flush out with color as they depend heavily on ample rain. When it does come, they just burst out in color as if to say Thank You for the life giving rain and in their gratitude, they give off this amazing display of wlid flowers. It has brought some viewers to tears, for reasons they could not explain. It stops almost everyone who passes by my show booth. It is an amazing scene.

It has placed in many photographic competitions, however this award, even though it was only Runner-Up in the International Conservation Photography Awards is still its greatest accolade to date. The open invitational is put on by famed landscape photographer and convservationist Art Wolfe. The winners of this year’s competiontion will be on display from August 30th to October 12th, 2008 at the Museum of History and Industry located in McCurdy Park at 2700 24th Avenue East, Seattle, WA. If you are in the neighborhood stop by and take a look. Let me know what you think of the image in real life. I am sure it will knock your socks off.

Peace – Youssef