As I was wandering about a science museum, beautiful light began dancing on the floor around me. Searching for the source, I came upon a cauldron of color on the a catwalk above, the surface rippling as patrons walked by.
Look up, down and all around, the images surround you.
Recently I was scrolling through my Lightroom library when an image, captured several years ago, caught my eye. It was a river reflecting the surrounding area shrouded in shadows. I was mesmerized and wondered why I didn’t see the potential before. Experience, age, I truly don’t know.
Not much was done to make that photograph below. Captured in camera with minor edits to exposure and color. It’s the first in my Water Dance project.
Photographers go to great lengths and expense to keep their cameras still so that a sharp image will be rendered. It is perhaps why I find it so liberating to move mine while shooting. Part of my Swiping the World, One Photograph at a Time Project.
Title: Following the light
Into the Light Benefit Exhibition for Friends of the Rail Park, September 7th - October 5th, 1300 Spring Garden Street, Philadelphia. So excited to be one of the 200 curated artists.
Just stay at the center of the circle and let all things take their course. ~ Tao Te Ching
Excited to be part of the Juried Down to Earth Exhibition at the Plays and Players Gallery, 1714 Delancey Street, Philadelphia. Show runs through June 16th.
Truly excited to be part of the New Hope Art League Juried Art Show. Show runs from April 6th-20th. Opening reception is Friday, April 6th, 6-8pm at The Conservatory, 4059 Skyron Drive, Doylestown, 18902.
Reflections: NYC
Rivulets of silver rain reflect along the wall of glass
Hopeful and blue
Individual drops of life-igniting pearls
One, then two and soon a thousand heart beats pound against the roof in a confluence of water force
They pour together into pools and puddles and overflowing banks
Becoming streams and rivers flowing deep into the roots of a waking thirsty world
Serendipity? A master plan?
I dwell on this for a second or two
At least until the sun bursts through and brings the change
A new light bends in disconcerting shapes like a kaleidoscope of pent up winter energy
Reflecting greens and pinks and buds exploding out beyond my window pane
Drinking it all in and opening
Trunks and branches, stems and petals, reaching up in gasps and swirls
All new
All fresh
As spring unfurls
PhotoLyrics - Poetry by Mark Safran - Photograph by Doré Vorum
Look up, look down, look all around
Up in the air or on the ground
Come for a walk, come for a ride
There's so much to see so come outside
Often when I wander with my camera this children’s poem plays in my head. I come home with pictures when shooting at eye level, but when I look up, look down, look all around, magic happens.
Oh the photographs I would capture on a recent trip to Brooklyn: the river, bridges, and architecture, danced in my head. Alas, my hopes dropped as quickly as the temperature the day I visited. I knew it was time to head inside when my finger could no longer press the shutter, frost nipped. What to do? I went to the Brooklyn Museum which offered warmth, incredible art and an amazing glass ceiling. Lying in the middle of the atrium floor, I took countless photographs of the ceiling including the image above.
Not what I expected or hoped for, but by allowing myself to see new possibilities, something different.
Many years ago an amazing photographer shared these words of wisdom "If you see red, shoot it". It is a mantra I have followed to this day. Though over time I've modified it a bit to include black and white. Seeing the three colors together, like this image in Tampa, makes my heart sing.
re·flec·tion, noun. The throwing back by a body or surface of light, heat, or sound without absorbing it. "the reflection of light"
When I share my reflection photographs, folks are curious about how I saw the scene. It is something I find difficult to explain because it is not what I saw, but a feeling that drew me in. It is the feelings of wonderment, lightness, happiness, curiosity and serendipity that I try to capture with my camera.
Reflections: San Antonio Riverwalk 5. Minor adjustments to exposure, but pretty much what came out of my camera.
No visit to San Francisco would be complete without visiting the Golden Gate Bridge. Amazing photographs of the magnificent structure abound on the web, but I wanted something different. Instead of walking across the bridge or shooting from the overlooks, I wandered below the bridge and came upon an unobstructed view of the underbelly along with a lighthouse and best of all, I was the only person there.
Wander often. What you discover may surprise you.
On a bitterly cold day along the Hudson River in New York City, crowds gathered by the railing to await the sunset. The incoming storm clouds that filled the sky created a spectacular view that did not disappoint the shivering onlookers. When the sun had finally descended below the horizon, people scattered in search of warmth. It was then that the real show began for those of us lucky enough to still be around for it. Everything mixed together with the twilight sky. As I was shooting the scene before me, I noticed a hint of color out of the corner of my eye and I looked behind seeing a magical scene: the sky, harbor and river being reflected in a piece of old wavy window glass. I quickly pressed the shutter and captured the image above.
Look up, down and all around, the images surround you.
I love to wander with my camera. It slows me down and allows me to see things that I may have otherwise overlooked, such as Urban Liquid. I was crossing a busy street in Philadelphia when I noticed the rounded side of a bus shelter reflecting the street scene behind me: crosswalks, buildings, newspaper racks, trees, cars and people, all blending together to create my image.
Minor adjustments were made during post-processing, but the image you see was pretty much straight out of my camera.
A thin layer of plexiglass separated me from the decommissioned Minuteman Missile. Being so close to something that could have destroyed our world had a chilling effect. Especially since nuclear weapons still exist and a single person, our president, can launch them.
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. Chief Seattle
Photographers go to great lengths and expense to keep their cameras still so that a sharp image will be rendered. It is perhaps why I find it so liberating to move mine while shooting. Part of my Swiping the World, One Photograph at a Time Project.
Title: Reaction to our ever changing times
I don't feel comfortable photographing people and landscapes. I know what I like: architecture, reflections, color, and zooming in close, so that's what I shoot.
My challenge this year is to photograph things that make me uncomfortable and share them. Here's the first in my Things I Don't Photoghraph Project.
Rock Cut