Photographer Captures the Jaw-Dropping Moment When a Forest Floor Appears to Be ‘Breathing’
From gigantic mammals to tiny microbes, every organism on this planet has a system that helps breathe life in and out of its body. Turns out, forests have a dramatic way of breathing. Deep in the heart of Nova Scotia, a forest is being awakened by the whipping winds and the torrents of rain loosening the soil. Heather (@thebodaciousbluenoser), a photographer from the Canadian town, recently shared footage inspired by the reactions on a similar video that left her viewers “stumped” the previous year. This one was filmed while she was wandering through a forest and noticed that the patch under a tree was “breathing.”
The short footage opens to reveal a surreal forest with clusters of grey-barked trees that are rising upwards from a grassy bed colored in a palette of greens. A clump of leafy stems hovering in front of the screen is rustling in the breeze, whose effect is amplified by TreeHouseBus’s nature-inspired background music. A giant branch is sprawled along the bottom of the grassy forest floor, as if a giant snake. Here and there, the soilbed is sprinkled with torn branches, fallen leaves, and leafmold.
Amidst this enchanting scene, something emerges that is just as creepy as mesmerising. The sight jolted the viewers to brainstorm a horde of perspectives, both beautiful and terrifying. Like a dramatic twist in a fantasy movie, the rootbed of the tree under which Heather is standing starts to bob up and down. In another moment, the ground on her side starts to pulsate too, rising and falling with the movements of the breeze. Heather gazes down at the gaping abyss opened up below her as she dances with the breathing forest floor. “That time you were shooting some content in the woods, and suddenly noticed that the forest floor was breathing,” Heather wrote in the video caption.
Although not unscientific, this breathing forest is a rare sight, and it prompted the viewers to spin a carousel of colorful stories in their brains. Many called it “tripping” and “psychedelic” as if someone was watching it while on acid. One said it resembled the top of a giant tortoise or a sleeping lion turtle whose breaths were moving Heather in the rising and falling rhythm. One said there is a secret underground tunnel under this rootbed that leads to Narnia, while someone was reminded of the Bridge to Terabithia.
Describing the science behind it, Heather said this phenomenon is triggered by high winds and hurricanes ripping through the forest. When this happens, not much of the wet area is left for the roots to grab on to, which leads to this pulsing movement, or the forest floor's so-called “breathing.” Commenting on the video, @solarmami_ said, “Someone was literally telling me trees move and now I see this video.” @mead.tillie wrote, “Forests are living beings.” @feralhorseshoecrab exclaimed, “Imagine seeing this high on acid or shrooms. Must be magical!”
You can follow Heather (@thebodaciousbluenoser) on Instagram to catch a glimpse into her nature photography.
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