Shadows.

I like shadows. In photography they can create a totally different impression then what you are looking at; it’s like seeing a second photograph in the same one. It’s pretty cool.

But shadows are not just in photographs of course. They are on sidewalks, walls, and ceilings; tonight, not knowing what my blog was about, our second youngest was talking about how much she likes to create shadows with her hands on the wall.

When I was young we used stay up and have sleepovers; we would watch TV, make phony phone calls, and create some of the funniest shadows on the wall using a flashlight—those were very simple times, but they were the ones that molded me.

One thing I have learned about shadows is they can really make taking a picture a lot rougher. Several times when I have been to Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI (it’s where the Milwaukee Brewers play baseball) the shadows make taking a picture a real challenge. Most games start around 1PM and the sun is usually overhead and that makes for fairly easy shooting---but by 1:30 or so, the shadows start to creep on to the field. Not only is this hard for the players, but if you are trying to take pictures you have very bright areas and dark areas all in the same picture. The camera has no idea what to do. It shows.

The best thing about shadows are they are part of you; I love watching our dog look at his shadow as he walks along. Sometimes he gets spooked because he thinks the shadow is another dog. Same thing happens when he looks into the mirror.

The photo above is of one of our daughter’s jumping on a huge bubble at very fun tourist attraction called, “Fair Oaks Farm.” This working farm has it all: From birthing areas where you can watch a calf being born to small tractor track where kids can drive tractors (they are not the real ones) to eatery where they have very good cheese and ice cream. It all comes from the farm. But nothing caught my attention more than this bubble---no matter how much I wanted to focus on my daughter jumping and it was her shadow that caught my eye.

Thanks for stopping by.