Monday’s Portfolio Musings – v. 2.12

In a portfolio, how do I categorize the interplay between abstract and landscape imagery, such as when we capture mysterious reflections and shapes, evoking all kinds of ideas.

In last week’s post titled ‘Monday’s Portfolio Musings – v. .2.11’, I mentioned that categories and themes are emerging in looking through the volume of images from the last 20 or so years of my photography. At this time, I may not have descriptors for each of the categories yet, as they have me thinking that images are crossing boundaries between the categories.

One of these boundary crossings is between abstract and landscape, as might be the case for this particular image…

This capture from 2012 still intrigues me, as it has a combination of reflection, variation in light and dark, and unusual shapes that crop up in the pond. This gives a bit of an otherworldly sense, as one could imagine that alien creatures are arising from the pond, on a mission of exploration to find out what this Earth is all about. I can only think that humanity might confuse these aliens into either leaving in despair or taking pity…

As long as we’re not ending up the subject a Twilight Zone episode, we’ll be alright.

I’m curious how you would categorize this image.

As Winter Moves In

New England’s winter approaches with the photographic opportunities that it provides. An example is this March 2019 shot of Portland Head at sunrise.

Here in New England it is beginning to feel more like winter, as temperatures have dropped by a good margin over the past week and the forecast looks chilly! There won’t be any complaint about it from me, as it is a season that I enjoy with the photographic opportunities that it provides.

You’ve seen some of those captures (Wednesday’s Wintry Wonder) and I think that part of what attracts me to photographing during winter is the sense of solitude that a cold frozen landscape provides. The landscape almost becomes otherworldly in its expression of the environment around us.

This image was a late winter shot, as it is from March 7, 2019, but there is not a single hint of springtime weather yet; I still remember the bitter cold of this morning as there was a good breeze and temperatures were well below freezing. This shot was taken at 6 am as part of a series of exposures to try and capture the ever-changing light around dawn.

With the light still in the blue hour period, the snow and lighthouse show the cold while a bit of hope is on the horizon as the sun’s light is beginning to warm up the day.

Three Line Tales – Crane

Classic movements create

Many thanks to Sonya for Week Eighty-Three of Three Line Tales, part of her awesome blog Only 100 Words!

three line tales, week 83: origami paper cranes on a table — photo by Dev Benjamin via Unsplash

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Colored paper, fold,
Turn, repeat, a shape appears.
Origami bird!

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Thank you to Sonya of Only 100 Words for coming up with Three Line Tales.

You’ll find full guidelines on her TLT page, but here’s the tl;dr:

Write three lines inspired by the photo prompt (& give them a title if possible).
Link back to this post.
Tag your post with 3LineTales (so everyone can find you in the Reader).
Read and comment on other TLT participants’ lines.
NEW: If you want your post to be included in the round-up, you have until Sunday evening to publish it.
Have fun.

Happy three-lining!

WPC – Half-Light (reprise)

Rage against the dying of the light!

The Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenge gave us the prompt: Half-Light. The intent is to share a photo that is inspired by a poem, verse, song lyric or story…or, alternatively, the actual half-light, or both, as here.

20131212-SW-2013-12-12 07.21.20 HDR-1 — Birth of the Sun

Do not go gentle into that good night

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

— Dylan Thomas (1937)

In response to Weekly Photo Challenge – Half-Light

WPC – Half-Light

Fear to tread…

The Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenge gave us the prompt: Half-Light. The intent is to share a photo that is inspired by a poem, verse, song lyric or story…

20140627-SW-2014-06-27 07.42.22-1 — *The Road Not Taken*

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

— Robert Frost (1916)

In response to Weekly Photo Challenge – Half-Light

3 Day Quote Challenge (Day 3)

Where the train takes us may not be important…

p43-20131017-IMG_2454 — *Past meets present, as we reach infinity.*

“My heart is warm with the friends I make,
And better friends I’ll not be knowing,
Yet there isn’t a train I wouldn’t take,
No matter where it’s going.”
– Edna St. Vincent Millay, The Selected Poetry

THE 3 DAY QUOTE CHALLENGE

This is the final day of the 3-day quote challenge that I was given by Mysticalwriter. First of all thank you for given me the challenge. As you can tell, I stuck to my plan of using photos to lead me to quotes.

Today’s quote is from American poet Edna St. Vincent Millay; her poetry has always stuck a chord with me. These lines are a perfect description of life’s journey, which ties back to the image.

HERE ARE THE RULES:

One quote a day for three days. They can be your quotes or quotes from other people. Post one a day for three days and nominate three bloggers per post. Also, thank the person that nominated you.

My nominees for today are:

Have fun!

What lies at our feet

The Pond

BY AMY LOWELL

Cold, wet leaves

Floating on moss-coloured water

And the croaking of frogs—

Cracked bell-notes in the twilight.

—-

During those moments when we look for the grand landscape to capture, it may lie at our feet.

—-

Photography is a funny thing: All too often, we wander around with our fancy cameras with this preconceived notion of what great landscape we are going to capture, only to come up wanting.

This image was captured at such a time during a photo trip to Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge.

Our group was looking for the perfect spot to do some sunset photography; most were looking for landscape features that would complement the light of the sun, as it descended toward the horizon.

As I trailed the group, I took a moment to look at the pond in front of me. A bit of experimentation with the composition of what I saw resulted in ‘Pondscape’.

Oh, and that sunset never panned out for us.