Everything Looks Different at Night - Day 15

Reflections From A Dark Window    

Outside of a Darkened Office Window    

- the glass reflects the lights from the restaurant across the street.    

On a calm spring evening, there is no wind to ruffle the flags on their flagpoles. The vertical blinds inside the office are as still as the trees outside. There is only a little traffic moving on the street, and only a few clients going in and out of the restaurant doors.     

Seeing What's Not There - Day 29

Multiple Reflections in a Window  

Multiple Layers of Glass in a Window 

-  give multiple reflections        

Reflections are what we see when light rays hit off a shiny surface and bounce back to our eyes. In an insulated window, multiple layers of glass provide many surfaces for bright light to reflect the scene behind the viewer, and provide ghostly triple and quadruple images.    

Seeing What's Not There - Day 27

Springtime Reflections from Outdoors  

It's Cozy Inside 

-  but there is work to do outdoors on a sunny day       

Bright sunlight shows up the places where raking needs to be done and things stored for the winter need to be put back into place. Springtime sunshine wakes up plants and people alike.   

Seeing What's Not There - Day 25

Curved Reflections  

Reflections in an Automobile Window

-  show the curvature of the glass       

Even without being polished to a high gloss, car windows reflect their surroundings in a distorted mirror image. Because the window is also transparent, you can see some objects through the glass as well, depending on how your eye adjusts to light and dark and to the focusing distance.    

Seeing What's Not There - Day 23

Reflections on a Wooden Deck  

A Series of Reflections in Tiny Pools of Rainwater

-  on the wooden planks of a backyard deck       

The focusing distance of the reflection is much farther away from the camera than the focusing distance of the wooden deck at my feet. This sets up a strange in-focus and out-of-focus conflict for a viewer's eyes, which is only resolved when the viewer's brain says: "We are looking at the trees." 

Seeing What's Not There - Day 21

Reflections in a Light Breeze  

Rippled Reflections of Riverbank Trees 

-  in a light spring breeze       

It is the wind that causes the water surface to have tiny ripples in the surface. It is the reflection of the trees on the riverbank that shows the ripples. And if I wasn't standing where I was, at just the right angle to the water, I wouldn't have caught this scene at all. 

Seeing What's Not There - Day 18

Shadows on Melting Snow  

The Shape of a Melting Snowbank

-  is defined by the shadows cast across it         

Spring's daily temperature fluctuations melt the surface of a snowbank into ripples and bumps, and freezes the skin of snow into a detritus-filled crust. Cast shadows from a stand of birches show these textures.

Seeing What's Not There - Day 16

Spring Melt

Reflections in a Vernal Pool

-  life waking up in shallow pools of melting water         

In pools and puddles where spring melt water collects, under a mat of floating seeds and dried grasses, you will likely find signs of plants and animals coming to life again after the winter. Insects, salamanders, frogs and toads may refresh themselves here and as the pool dries up, they will move on to seek a more permanent home. 

Seeing What's Not There - Day 13

School Window Reflections

Reflections on School Windows

-  on a sunny Spring afternoon.         

This was not the school I went to, but I think of the many pairs of eyes that have looked out longingly from these windows onto a sunny day in spring, their owners battling Spring Fever, or else succumbing to it. 

Seeing What's Not There - Day 11

Shadows on a Melting Snowbank II

Reflections and Shadows 

- on the ridges of a melting snowbank, from another angle.         

The snow is melting in the daytime and crystalizing into ice in the night time cold. In the daytime the snowbanks melt into ridges, and the cast shadows from the trees pick out the ups and downs of the surface. Meanwhile, the ice crystals sparkle as the sunlight reflects off them.   

Seeing What's Not There - Day 10

Shadows on a Melting Snowbank   

Reflections and Shadows 

- on the ridges of a melting snowbank.         

The snow is melting in the daytime and crystalizing into ice in the night time cold. In the daytime the snowbanks melt into ridges, and the cast shadows from the trees pick out the ups and downs of the surface. Meanwhile, the ice crystals sparkle as the sunlight reflects off them.   

Seeing What's Not There - Day 7

A Pale Sun    

On a Dull Overcast Day

- a pale sun shines like a star in the slush.         

Overcast days may not look promising for photographing either shadows or reflections, but if you keep your eyes open, you never know what you may see!   

Seeing What's Not There - Day 6

The Face in the Snowbank    

Shovel marks along the edge of a snowbank 

- set up two snowy profiles, one in sunlight and one in shadow, sporting eye, nose, mouth and chin.         

Some days you can search and search and not find what you are looking for, and then you get out of the car in the driveway - and there it is!  

Seeing What's Not There - Day 5

Utility Pole Reflection    

Unsteady Reflection 

- on the rippled surface of a puddle disturbed by traffic        

Puddles on the side of the road rarely achieve a state of mirror-calm. Even on a quiet street, traffic rumbling past will set up vibrations in the puddle or else throw a splash of water to disturb the surface. 

Seeing What's Not There - Day 3

Birches in the Slush    

Shadows and Reflections  

- of blue sky and birches      

Reflections make our eyes focus on different planes at the same time. This sets up a puzzle: do you look at the melting ice crystals, or do you look at the reflections of the birch trees?     

Seeing What's Not There - Day 2

Broken Window and Snowbank    

Shadows and Reflections  

- are tricks of the light     

Reflections show us objects in places where we know they are not. Reflections are images produced by light bouncing back to us from a surface which does not absorb that light. Here, the outer pane of plexiglass is broken, but the inner plateglass is still intact - notice the difference between the reflections on the left and the reflections on the right, inside the circle.    

Seeing What's Not There - Day 1

Shadows of Birches on Snow    

Shadows and Reflections  

- aren't really there, but we do see them.    

How can we see what isn't there? By paying attention to what is there. Shadows exist where the light is blocked off by an object. Shadow is the absence of light. Shadows are there, and they are not there. 

Take It To The Streets - Day 10

Glare and Drifting Snow  

"Snow Snakes" 

- on the road    

Reflected light from the late afternoon sun reflects of the ice on the road, but the glare is cut by drifting snow making "snow snakes" slither across the surface. 

Gone to the Dogs - Day 15

A Reflection of What Spirit Sees  

In Spirit's Eye    

- you can see both Casper and me    

The flow of a dog's fur, or the shape of her head, or the way she holds her tail may be beautiful features.
For me, one of Spirit's most beautiful features is her dark shiny eyes. And surprisingly, as she looked at us, I was able to see reflections of both Casper and me in her eye. And the photograph caught the moment.

Close Up and Personal - Day 31

This Little Light Of Mine...  

"...I'm Going To Let It Shine!"    

- darkness by candlelight    

Candles are so familiar to us. We have ritual candles, church candles, votive candles, birthday candles and candles on the dinner table. We can have candles for decoration, as well, always being aware of fire safety in their use.
And we also have the symbolism of candles that relates the self-sustaining candle flame to specific events in our lives. We may not need candles, but there is something magic about them that makes us want to light candles all the same.