Waiting for the Light

A few years ago, on one of my first photographic journeys, I found myself, a photographer I had hired as a guide and my wife, Cathy all gathered on a ledge in Patagonia waiting for the sky to illuminate a great scene before us. We waited one hour; two hours; three hours; finally dusk came and we climbed down from the ledge without having gotten the shot. That scene has repeated itself in various places around the world and when it does, when it seems like we are completely wasting our time…Cathy will roll her eyes and say “I know, we’re waiting for the light!”

Over the past three years I’ve waited for the light frequently and managed to build a small business doing photographic programs for senior audiences. And it’s been wonderful. I show my work to live audiences almost a hundred times a year and each time I get live feedback on my work and the audience gets 45 minutes of entertainment. What could be better?

Still, I’ve been thinking about how to expand my base (there’s a phrase I’ll bet you haven’t heard in a while) and show my work to a wider audience. I’ve considered doing a photographic blog for some time now but have dawdled because..well, starting a photographic blog is a bit daunting. It means publishing images and commentary people will find interesting and stimulating, it means finding those images in the first place, and it means “f8 and be there” (look it up). Lastly I guess it means you have to throw some level of modesty out the window and believe that people will like what you do.  So here goes…

Cemeteries & Autumn

Every New England town has a cemetery that dates back at least two hundred years and many are in the town center next to the historical church with the white steeple. Almost every day I drive by the one in the center of my town which contains an abundance of large stately maple trees that are the centerpiece of our New England autumns. Depending on the tree, the leaves can be yellow, orange or even red or a combination of all three. Photographed on a blue sky day with a polarizing filter and hopefully some wispy white clouds, the results can be a breathtaking display of color

Even though the colors may be spectacular, the graphics of an image are equally important. Notice that the leading lines of the monuments move your eye back to the orange tree blazing in the blue sky.

She has been there for over two hundred years and I imagine she has been praying all this time for a day exactly like this one!

This is the second image I shot of this scene. Initially, I filled the frame with the angel against the orange backdrop. I prefer this framing. It adds additional yellow color and also frames the shot from the upper left of the image.

Sometimes you have to change your point of view. Look up!

The vibrant blue and orange hues here are amazing and the monuments form a diagonal line into the image.

So concludes my first photographic blog post. I plan on publishing 1-2 times per month as my ability to gather interesting material permits. Hopefully you and future readers will find it worthy of your time. You may subscribe to this blog by checking the “Follow” box on the right side of this page.  You will then receive an email asking you to confirm your subscription. Confirming the subscription will mean that you will automatically receive new blog entries.

Shrewsbury, MA