Shinrin-yoku
A short film & portfolio
The second and third years of my Marine and Natural History Photography degree were focused on the links between mental health and nature. My mental health was suffering after travelling the world for 11 years and then suddenly finding myself back home, trapped during a pandemic, and struggling to transition back into education after so many years out of school.
One day, I randomly stumbled across the Japanese practice of Shinrin-yoku, the art of bathing in the forest atmosphere, and it changed the trajectory of my degree. I spent a lot of time outside, shooting the ancient woodlands around my home, and it helped more than I ever could have imagined. I have a deep love and appreciate for our forests and the trees that grow within them, and my hope is that we can move towards a more sustainable future, not only for the planet’s sake, but because our bodies, minds and souls need the nature that surrounds us.
Here you’ll find my short film “Shinrin-yoku: The Art of Forest Bathing”, my portfolio showing my visual interpretations of some powerful Japanese words, and a filmed interview with Paul Simmons, a British shinrin-yoku practitioner who runs forest bathing tours around Cornwall.
Location: Penryn Campus, Devichoy and Bosahan woods, Glendurgan and Trebah Gardens, Cornwall, UK
Equipment: Fujifilm X-T3, Fuji 18-55mm f2.8-4
Shinrin-yoku: The Art of Forest Bathing (a short film)
My first attempt at a solo short film. The subject is Shinrin-yoku, a Japanese term that translates to forest bathing – a practice that involes spending time in nature, particularly any green space with trees, in an effort to improve mental and phsyical wellbeing. It’s a powerful and easily accessible activity that shows positive results backed by science.
Words of the forest (a portfolio)
A series of twelve images inspired by the practice of shinrin-yoku. Some Japanese words cannot easily be translated into English, but they have beautiful meanings that can inspire a specific feeling or invoke a certain memory. As a person with aphantasia, I’m unable to visual the words in my mind, so I created these images to show how each one feels to me. Every photo is very personal to myself, my childhood, and my own mental health journey.
