Spring has sprung and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than with a collection of nature inspired haiga. Personally, I find haiga mesmerizing. There’s something about pairing haiku with an image that is rich and complex as well as simple and fresh.

So I’m thrilled to present this week’s guest haiku’er, Cynthia Bohannon-Brown, a poet who combines photography with linked haiku. Her haiga will appear on this page for the next five days.

Cynthia has many talents and interests. She is a teacher, a photographer, a poet and a nature enthusiast. Cynthia also has a photography website that showcases her beautiful nature photography. It’s simply stunning work so be sure to check it out.

Let’s give a big welcome to Cynthia as  she tells us a bit about her life in Atlanta, Georgia and her adventurous approach to haiga:

Teacher, friend, lover, writer, poet, and photography nut are all words that accurately describe me. I live in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia (with my six zebra finches) and spend most of my waking hours thinking about nature and haiku. I am one of those poets who finds it difficult to separate the two things. I have volunteered my photography skills to organizations like the Sierra Club of Georgia and the Atlanta Audubon Society.

For the past thirteen years, I have taught elementary students and moved into teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) about three years ago. In 2009, I opened Cynthia Bohannon-Brown photography that specializes in nature photography, as well as photography for small businesses. In my spare time, I ride the lovely byways and highways of Georgia looking for my next photo opportunity.

For haiku poets, images are created from experiences which translate into words. For me, I document those images and experiences through digital photography and use them as my source of inspiration. I have found that as I move deeper into my fabulous forties, my memory simply isn’t as good as it used to be. Also, I am able to share the images with my students and motivate them to learn more about nature and to write haiku.

As a teacher, friend, lover, writer, poet, photography nut, I hope to inspire a generation of children to love and to appreciate haiku and nature as much as I do.