16,067 x 5,713 pixels Canon EOS R5 Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM 6 horizontal exposures 1/160 f/8 ISO 100
Image by: David Lennard
THE STORY AND PURPOSE BEHIND THIS COLLECTION In 2018 I was 57 and had finally found Purpose. Bringing awareness to Indigenous wisdom, educating others on the benefits of connecting with nature, and leaving a legacy to support the Hopi tribe through my photography became priorities.
In early 2021 I began to study the potential of an emerging technology called “web 3”, and became particularly excited for Indigenous Peoples. I saw the technology as an opportunity for these folks to finally stake their claim, preserve their culture, gain equity, and tell their own stories. I would use my photography as a vehicle to preserve the land and to educate others by offering some Indigenous anecdotes.
This is also a story of focus and survival. I wanted to be certain of leaving this world having contributed for the privileged life I’d led. My hope is that others may find peace in the scenes I present, learn a little from my story, and find their own way of contributing to mankind.
As early as 9,000 years ago Indigenous Americans lived and farmed in the area now called Sedona, the subject of this collection. It remains a sacred place to these tribes, who largely migrated due to a change in weather patterns in the 16th century.
My first visit to this part of the country was in the early 1980’s. On vacation from England with my girlfriend and another couple from Paris, Sedona was a pitstop on our way from Scottsdale to Monument Valley. Although I’d seen a few photographs of the surrounding wilderness, nothing prepared me for the magical scene that unfurled as we approached this picturesque bohemian town of 5,000 people.
What I will never forget, was the immense sense of peace and harmony I felt as we hiked the pristine wilderness. Ancient pinion pine, juniper and oaks towered from canyon walls, sycamores lined the creeks growing in harmony with prickly pear, ocotillo, and yucca. The vegetation, wildlife and rock formations offered up the epitome of beauty, majesty, solitude and tranquility. A veritable oasis in the desert. It wasn’t until a few years later that I learned of Sedona’s ancient indigenous roots and of the spiritual attraction to the landscape’s energy centers (or vortices). It was a far cry from my fast-paced life in the center of London. “I want to live here before I die”, I said to my friends as we headed back south to Scottsdale.
Life’s journey brought me back to the US many times, eventually migrating in 2004. In 2019 I moved to Sedona to work on this portfolio. Three weeks after the relocation, I was hospitalized with Multiple Myeloma, almost dying in October that year.
One day, as I lay in hospital with spinal, rib and sternum fractures in the most unimaginable pain, a warm glow enveloped me, and an extraordinary scene appeared. I found myself back in The Centennial Valley, Montana where I’d recently spent some time. The valley was alive with several tribes celebrating their coming together for the summer hunting season. Children were giggling, women were braiding hair, and the men traded and compared tools and projectile points. It was the most beautiful scene of humankind I’d ever witnessed. The pain vanished as I watched and I felt my life slipping away. While I was at peace and welcomed the relief, I’d found my Purpose and the vision told me I was on the right track. I fought back with everything I had to stay alive in that moment. To this day, I don’t know how I did it.
It took 8 months for my bones to heal sufficiently to get out of bed unaided. I was rushed to hospital several times on the brink of death times during that period. The only view was of a fence outside my bedroom window, or a clock and medication schedule while in hospital. They were the toughest 8 months of my life. I still live with the additional layers that came with a lapse in medical insurance, months of rehabilitation, living alone in a new town, not having family support, and at high risk from Covid-19. Not quite how I’d planned the last chapter of my life.
While I’ve barely had time to breath since I was first rushed to hospital, and certainly no time to grieve, my mental health has remained in check and I’ve rebuilt my body. My connection with this magical land, the passion for my Purpose and the bond with my dog and compadre, Rupert, gave my the strength and will to survive to this point. Furthermore, I’ve cemented my legacy with the minting of this NFT Collection.
Against the odds, I’ve managed to stay in partial remission. The power of the Sedona’s vortices continue to give me strength and the Indigenous wisdom I learn each day guides me in being a better human.
I am blessed to have been given the time to complete the task, and for the remarkable teachers I’ve met along the way.
All sales/royalties after my passing are bequeathed to Hopi Nation.
David