I sense the Holy Spirit when I walk in the woods and feel the wind. It's there when I hear the sound of a brook, the cry of a red-tailed hawk, or feel the heat of the sun. When I photograph in nature, I know I can't possibly record the full extent of what I sense. But as I slow down and focus on the details of the natural world, I feel more closely connected to the Spirit. And when I look later at my photographs, I am reminded of the presence of the Holy Spirit, and encouraged to get outside and search for it once again. The Spirit is not far away.

I made the photograph of crocus last spring in my front yard. This past week, the same patch of crocus pushed up again, and I wondered which one was my model.
- Wilson Cummer, artist

On View: 'Crocus,' photograph by Wilson Cummer, March 2004, as seen in 'Spirit's Fire,' an exhibition of Episcopal Church & Visual Arts.

Wilson Cummer works professionally as a photographer teaches photography to children and adults, through Cazenovia College, near his home in Fayetteville, NY.