In Bingley, West Yorkshire,
England there was a historical belief in fairies. Author- historian Harry Speight wrote in 1904
that, “Around Bingley there used to be, and possibly there still is, a
strong belief in the existence of fairies. In Gilstead Crags there was an opening in the rocks known as "Fairies Hole", and
it was said that the tiny creatures used to trip and dance and play their merry
antics in the bright moonlight. Anyone who intruded at such a time, it was said
would lose their sight. At Harden, in a secluded part of Deep Cliff, it is said
that the fairies could sometimes be heard clanging musical tongs and what
looked like tiny white garments hung out on the trees could be seen on bright
nights.” . What happened in that area thirteen years later, probably couldn’t have happened without that belief in fairies.
The
need to be believing:
In
1917 this belief allowed Elsie Wright and Frances Griffeths,
of nearby tiny community Cottingley,
to photograph fairies for the first time. The apparently authoritative photographs were a comfort to Francis’ mother,
who was grieving the loss of her son. The magic of having fairies as friends, and photographs to prove it,
gave Elsie the strength to deal with the fear that her father, her only
remaining parent, might not return from the war. He was in fact missing at the time the first
fairy photographs were taken. The story
is laid out in beautiful sensitivity in the 1997 movie Fairy Tale: a True Story which
stars Mel Gibson. The whole story is
much more interesting in the movie, and I wouldn’t want to spoil the movie by
telling its entire plot, so I recommend seeing it. You can also read research it further.
Prior
to the seeing this movie, I had been doing genealogical work, and came across a
Bingley who forwarded information to me about the origins of the family name,
and the place from which it sprang. I
noted that there was a place in England that used to be known as Bing Lea, but
thought little more of it.
I
had often enjoyed playing in the woods as a small boy growing up, and had come
to love being in nature as a soothing quieting revitalizing experience. So it was often to nature that I would
return for a peaceful walk, or a rhythmic jog, especially when I was distraught
over troubles. Some have said that jogging is a form of transcendental meditation. It was on such a jog in
2007 that I began to feel an awareness of nature at a deeper level than I had
ever done before. I could feel the life
in the trees, the creatures in the brush, and it seemed, even sense the sap
running in the leaves. It was in this
state that the visualizations of fairies began to form in my mind. Somehow nature herself was communicating to
me, her son, empathy, by helping me to imagine the embodiment of her
life force, creation itself. The relief of “seeing” fairies
on the leaves, sprites in the brook, and dryads in the trees was like seeing
the essence of all life, and my body mind and heart resonated with the rhythm
of life’s essence, bringing me back into a state of peace, of harmony and
contentment.
As
a photographer, the more I had these experiences, the more my desire to
photograph these fairies has grown. So I
took lots of nature photos. If when you
look at a picture of a flower,
So,
with the camera of my mind, I will introduce you to the fairies. You may find it a little difficult to see
them at first, but the first page will train you to “see” by using hints built
into the site. Just move your mouse
around.
For
Reasons of Hope:
In
her old age, Elsie admitted that some of the fairy photos had been fabricated,
but she always maintained that they were trying to depict what they actually saw,
and she re-affirmed that the fifth photograph, was of
real fairies.
That
hope and relief from the unseen world was needed was certainly noticed by Sir
Arthur Conen Doyle and others who publicized the girls pictures in The strand. The photo and write-up got a remarkable amount of attention. While the reaction was mixed, there was
plenty reaction. For those who chose to
believe, the Cottingley Fairies gave hope. This was durring World War I, a time when hope and optimism were much needed. We could use a little believing these days as
well. Skepticism has become so much a
part of daily culture and media, that we from time to time lose hope. This is my reason for sharing fairy
photographs with the world.
Real
fairies, since they are part of the immagination, don’t allow themselves to be
photographed, but, I’m confident that
if I re-create what I have seen in my mind’s eye. It can give hope, comfort and peace and a
sense of attunement to life and nature. …
And
so we return to the place that brought us to an awareness of the fairies: Bingley. On doing research in preparation to creating fairy photographs, I could not have
been more surprised that the place of my name’s origin was is so closely tied
to the Cottingley fairies. So perhaps
that is the heritage of Bingley, to bring oneself to an awareness of self,
life, nature, and imagination. I hope
these photographs do that.
