Komorebi

I was recently introduced to the beautiful Japanese phrase komorebi by Instagram user Bobby O’Loughlin. Komorebi means ‘sunlight filtering through trees’, and describes visible rays of light through mist or rain, as seen in woodland or forested areas. It’s such a precise description (as many Japanese words and phrases tend to be) that the closest English equivalent would be ‘sunbeams’ or the more meteorologically accurate ‘crepuscular rays’. However, neither seem to do the phenomena the justice that komorebi does.

Komorebi is something I’ve been capturing for a few years now, during my early morning visits to Richmond Park. There’s something magical about those rays, the way they filter through the mist or haze, scattering light through branches and leaves, creating cascading shafts of soft, fading light.

So here’s a few recent examples of komorebi, taken in Richmond Park:

Light shining through spring mist, May, 2018.

In the green wood, May, 2018.

Escape to nature, May, 2018.

Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram for new photos every day. You can also download a selection of my photos over at Unsplash.