Finding Light
Reflective Writings About Finding Purpose & Healing Through Photography, Nature & Creativity
Discover Brad Carr’s Acclaimed Philosophical and Educational Creative Essays that will Help You Find a Deeper Sense of Purpose
Brad Carr
Brad Carr writes at the intersection of photography, creativity, Nature, healing, and personal transformation. Through creative, reflective essays that emerge from years of wandering Welsh woodlands, writing in the pages of his journal, and mentoring fellow creatives, he explores the inner landscapes that shape our vision—both through the camera lens and through life itself.
These reflections offer sanctuary for those seeking to deepen their creative practice, navigate artistic transitions, or discover how mindful observation and stillness become a pathway to healing and authentic expression. Each piece invites readers to slow down, look closer, and find the light that exists within both the natural world and the internal landscape.
The Lost Art of Presence: Using Nature Photography as Therapy
True presence is a lost art in our scattered, device-dominated world. After surviving childhood trauma and soul fragmentation, I discovered photography and it became a pathway back to wholeness, teaching me embodied presence through Nature's mirror.
Read more to learn how this creative practice restored my sense of self-sovereignty, showing me I have the power to choose what and who I give my energy to.
Nature Photography: The Pursuit of Self
We come outdoors searching for photographs, but what are we really looking for amongst these trees and mountains? There's something primal about this search—like ancient hunters seeking purpose and stories to carry back to the tribe. Photography offered me the greatest sense of purpose. Nature became my portal to greater self-awareness, and the camera my vehicle through time and space to revisit old versions of myself and meet new ones. Through this creative practice, I've been creating myself as well as the photographs—learning what it means to be a human living to fullest potential, walking my own path with reclaimed sovereignty.
Staring into the Void
What happens when an artist builds their entire portfolio around pain and healing, only to find that success becomes its own prison? In my latest essay, I explore the journey from introspection to purpose, questioning identity, artistic authenticity, and the courage to step into the unknown. Sometimes staring into the void is exactly where we need to be.
Photographing Feelings
It took me over thirty years to realize I was born to be an artist—to share my inner world with the outer world. After years of hiding my sensitivity to survive a volatile childhood, photography became my platform to express deep-rooted emotions locked away for too long. Sometimes our greatest pain becomes our most powerful creative fuel.
Starting Out
I thought starting a photography business would be easy—announce it online and watch workshop bookings follow. Boy, was I wrong. Between my old Ford Fiesta, frugal meals, and jobs that didn't align with who I was becoming, I learned that business is an energy exchange. The question that changed everything: what was I offering the world beyond pretty pictures?
The Universal Struggle
The universal struggle that is shared by us all, is the desire to return to this place of sanctuary, where there are no walls that prevent love from entering.
Creativity is Inner Alchemy
By creating something beautiful from the place of our deepest struggles, we disarm our most frightening demons." This is the story of how creativity became my greatest healing tool—transforming childhood trauma into art, fear into purpose, and pain into power. Sometimes our darkest caves contain the light we've been searching for.
Achieving Catharsis Through Nature Photography
In this essay, I reflect upon a year that has brought about many changes within myself; a year through which I have been writing a lot more that photographing, and uncovering a much deeper sense of purpose for my art.
Finding Home in Wales
In this blog post, I reflect upon the events that led me to a life of creativity here in Wales…
Photographing the Spirit within Trees
‘But this isn’t just a tree. It’s a spirit! How do you photograph a spirit?’
I do my best to answer this fascinating question that was posed to me recently…