The Shadow Portrait is back in the header! (If you read this in a FeedReader, go check it out!)
This last Friday, we were able to play outside in the gorgeous weather and take pictures of the fall leaves in the backyard. Daddy had the day off from work and was working on landscaping, and Claire and I were having a great time helping him and playing hide-and-seek. It was a wonderfully warm, fall day.
As the sun got to the right angle, Daddy took a break, and we wandered around the yard playing with our shadows, trying to capture the wonderful autumn colors and our shadows in the same frame.
The key to getting a good shadow portrait is to just keep clicking the camera and sort them out when you have a chance to sit down at the computer. You never know which ones will look the best or capture the message you’re trying to convey.
I got a lot of good shots, and as I looked at all the photos, one just leapt off the screen.
Click to enlarge: Autumn Shadow Portrait 2008
Normally, I try to hide the shadow of the camera in The Shadow Portrait, and those pictures rarely make the cut. But, this one spoke to me. This shadow portrait captures exactly how I feel when I write. I try to capture bits and pieces of our lives and record them. I don’t want to forget the details. The everyday details are an integral part of everything. They make up our lives, but they are easily lost in the passage of time.
How can something so important at the time be forgotten? It’s because the tiny details are no match for the big picture. Many times, something happens, and I have the urge to write it down. Then, I’ll think to myself, “Okay…I’ll write about this…but how could I ever forget this!?”
But I do. Often times, I look through the archives of the things I’ve written and the memories come flooding back to me.
It just solidifies in my mind that I won’t remember these things on my own. I need to record this. I don’t want to forget the details.
That’s what this picture represents to me.
This picture, which was just a random moment, shows a typical shot of the three of us. I’m the recorder of the details (this time, my tool is the camera…and now my writing…). If you could hear what was going on when the camera captured this image, you’d hear the three of us laughing. You can see the interaction between Claire and Daddy. She’s showing him a stick that she’s found, and he’s answering all of her questions about it and the world around her. In fact, just after I snapped this photo, she bent down and asked us both why the reddish plants in the picture are called Dragon’s Blood. How did the Dragon get hurt, and why did he bleed all over the plants, and where is he now?
This picture is so us, and I love it.
I don’t ever want to forget the moment we had playing in the leaves, exploring all the colors of autumn, and explaining that no Dragons were harmed in our backyard. And, now, I won’t.
sent to your Email
