BALANCE

At first it was the light and the lines that drew me to this picture. As I spent time shooting it I was struck by the metaphor that was unfolding. The skate boarder was trying to find balance on his board and I was trying to find balance in the image. In the end I think the image balances well. I wish it were that easy to find balance in life.

SHADOW PLAY

I like it when images surprise me. This morning as I sipped a cup of coffee I watched the light come streaming in the kitchen window and dance across the countertops. I saw the pumpkin sun catcher reflected on the granite and the way the cat trivet seemed to wave at me just asking to be photographed. As I watched the light travel across the counter and the shadows get longer I wasn’t certain if what I saw firsthand would translate into an image. That’s the thing about photography there is always an element of surprise, an unknown. Sometimes I shoot something and I just know it's going to work. But the images that surprise me are the real finds and so much more rewarding.

LIFE AND DEATH

For some reason I have always felt that life retreats indoors when the day is a gray and rainy one. It's a day when life inside is far better than the goings on outside which if worth observing are best seen through the window. Usually I don't have the luxury of cocooning during inclement weather as there is always some compelling reason (most often work) that drags me out. As I made my way back to my car today I saw this simple image and I just liked the way the leaf separated cleanly from the pavement and the white line. Oddly enough, by the time a leaf has fallen from the branch it has already begun to die, but the leaf brought life to this image. My reward for venturing out into the elements was to find life in a dying leaf that had fallen onto a rainy street. "In the midst of life we are in death", Episcopalians recite from the Book of Common Prayer at a burial. And so we are.

INTERSECTIONS

In the very best sense of the word this picture was truly a drive by shooting. Something about the configuration of the people on the bench caught my eye. Here on a very busy street they were in very separate worlds yet their space was shared. People from different places, at different places in their lives unaware of each other-- a dad and his toddler and two friends chatting animatedly. It reminded me of a project I wanted to do years ago on a day in the life of a park bench. I never did the project, maybe one of these days. I just need to find the right bench.

TABLE FOR TWO

Designers and art directors I have worked with taught me to eschew an even number of elements in an image. I find myself trying to work with three elements or five--odd numbers. For some reason I felt that two elements just didn't create interest or have balance. Today looking out my window I saw these two Monarch butterfly friends having a late lunch. I got to thinking about numbers, specifically even numbers. I was born on the twenty second (two twos) day of an even month. I like the number two, it's a couple. It's not as lonely as one and we all know that three can be a third wheel! And you know, I like the balance of the two butterflies on this bush. I think I will start working with two more often. Time to rethink design!

PAINTING BY NUMBERS

Sometimes in the early morning, when light filters through the trees it creates an image that blurs the lines between photography and painting. When this happens I travel to a place where my photography almost feels like I am painting by numbers. It feels like I am cheating! This serendipitous moment happened in Brooklyn where the light and shadows danced on the facades of the brownstones.

DIRTY LAUNDRY