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Sunday, January 18, 2009

Shadows Are Not Always Sinister

 


It was a great day to go outside today, except for the fact that there was a brand new 16" (yes sixteen inch) layer of new fluffy snow on top of all the previous snow. It all fell yesterday! Maggie is standing in the trench, er... path I had just made with the snowshoes. You can rest assured that even with snowshoes the walking was not easy.

It was so great to see the sun on all that new, fresh snow, so I went out with the intention of looking for something you can only find when the sun is out... shadows.

Shadows are elusive wraiths, they change every minute. Even sooner if the wind is blowing. The brighter the sun, the darker the shadow!

We so often look at obvious shapes, the positive image, and forget to observe the less obvious silhouette of the shadow. Here is a black cherry tree, sprawling up the slope.

Compare this lumpy shadow of a Scotch pine which captured snow on its coarse needles with the lacy fingers of the cherry.
This is my favorite: I was standing in the shadow of the pines and maples by the cemetery looking east across the field. Even though it was only 2 pm, the shadows were beginning to angle toward the east and to creep up the hill.

Only a short time later the sun and thus the shadows disappeared. What a quality experience that I chose to go out when the sun was bright and the shadows deep!


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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good to see someone else who appreciates the aesthetics of shadows. There's a lot more to it than darkness, after all.

Besides, shadows create contrast, and contrast is vital to art.

Lovely pictures!

Sharkbytes (TM) said...

Thank you Ravyn. Write on, eh? Thanks for stopping by and enjoying the details with me.

Anonymous said...

Great photos - thanks for sharing your shadows. Wishing you the best.

Sharkbytes (TM) said...

Thank you Marlene- Sun again today on frosty branches!