Work commitments have pressed in of late, making my opportunities to walk around with a camera scarce.

Today, sitting in a ballroom overlooking this scene above, in a suburb of Chicago, I remembered what I’ve lacked: creative expression. That’s what “walk around with a camera” is for me.

As my colleagues and I opined, considered, theorized and politely listened to speakers offering more of the same, I saw outside and visualized this path, but ajar, at an angle. A path, cutting through the swath of trees toward an unknown, looked inviting to me… and also foreboding. It’s a statement of inner condition.

The angle suggests this unruly blend, this lack of balance. The gritty black and white added to the tension, I thought.

Then a break came. I bounced past the snack table and coffee station and headed outside. I only had my iPhone and time did not permit getting too far along the path. Sprinting to this point, I lay my camera down close to the ground, tipped it over and snapped. Processing came later.

Later, as stared at the image on my screen, a pre-visualization now realized, it occurred to me that in addition to satisfying a creative itch, I also saw in it the truth that when “pressed in of late”, perhaps sometimes you just have to walk. Forward. Into inviting. And to foreboding. Unknown. Just walk…