Thursday, March 3, 2011

the shadows we cast


on this cold and brittle day, the snow crunches underfoot, there's a purity about the air - it's so thin and light
even the shadows have a clarity about them that is so different to the soft thick shadows of summer

summer shadows don't so much echo their mother or father's form as they seem to lie down
and spread themselves any which way . . .

it doesn't matter where they're from
or where they're going

winter shadows seem somehow deeply fixed
attached
and grateful for the connection


even as they dance to keep warm


at

21 comments:

  1. Dejemonos sorprenderMarch 3, 2011 at 5:45 AM

    Hi Steven.. That is very nice.. shadows are fantastic!)

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  2. DulceMarch 3, 2011 at 5:59 AM

    Amazing what winter and snow can get to inspire
    those shadows are beautiful and move through your words so sweetly, Steven.

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  3. RuthMarch 3, 2011 at 6:32 AM

    I love winter shadows too, Steven. In fact, yours have some sisters in Michigan, that I posted at synch-ro-ni-zing. When I walk, I almost hate stepping on them in their pristine clarity.

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  4. stevenMarch 3, 2011 at 6:43 AM

    matias - the shadows on the coldest days are always so sharply defined! thanks for visiting. steven

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  5. stevenMarch 3, 2011 at 6:44 AM

    dulce thankyou. i am inspired in winter by the visuals - eventually!! steven

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  6. stevenMarch 3, 2011 at 6:45 AM

    ruth your comment made me smile because when i take photographs of winter shadows i try to be cognizant of leaving footprints that spoil them! steven

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  7. Reya MellickerMarch 3, 2011 at 9:22 AM

    Beautiful. I've noticed this same thing (though have never expressed it so eloquently). In winter, shadows are sharp and focused, like the air. In summer they are pools of coolness.

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  8. ellen abbottMarch 3, 2011 at 9:45 AM

    they do seem to be all of a piece don't they?

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  9. Tess KincaidMarch 3, 2011 at 9:51 AM

    "...summer shadows don't so much echo their mother or father's form as they seem to lie down and spread themselves any which way . . ."

    I'm claiming this line and taking it home with me today. x

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  10. JoMarch 3, 2011 at 1:41 PM

    Winter shadows dancing to keep warm...beautiful thought, Steven.

    The movement of trees leafed out in summer cause shadows to blur and 'spread out' as you say.

    I LOVE the winter shadows of the trees, when they become crystal clear reflections on surfaces, displaying their beautiful bones in all their glory.

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  11. Richard Jesse WatsonMarch 3, 2011 at 3:46 PM

    Steven, you've captured beautifully the dance of light and shadow in your pictures. I was just speaking with a friend last night who said that she helped create a hands-on science museum for kids in San Francisco called The Exploratorium. The science of shadows was one of their first exhibits.

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  12. PaulineMarch 3, 2011 at 3:57 PM

    I hadn't thought of shadows in that way but I will now :)

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  13. BeeMarch 3, 2011 at 4:34 PM

    Summer shadows really ARE fat and sprawling! You have such a noticing and whimsical turn of mind (and phrase). It's always a pleasure to visit you here.

    btw, our day of spring was truly fleeting. Back to cold and gray for now, but my house is filled with daffodils and pussy willow and forsythia. Is it just me, or do you think of daffs as one of THE English things?

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  14. stevenMarch 3, 2011 at 4:43 PM

    hello bee! i think of bluebells as the most english of flowers. followed closely by tea roses. steven

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  15. stevenMarch 3, 2011 at 5:21 PM

    pauline - only if that's what you wish! steven

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  16. stevenMarch 3, 2011 at 5:21 PM

    richard - i love the activity that we do with kindie kids to paint their shadows on a hot day with water. the shadow disappears!!! steven

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  17. stevenMarch 3, 2011 at 5:22 PM

    jo - their beautiful bones sticks with me as i rethink the piece. thankyou. steven

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  18. stevenMarch 3, 2011 at 5:23 PM

    tess - shadows are so much like children - they spring from the bodies of their mother and father's forms and spread themselves across the landscape in whaichever way they wish! i'm glad you found a phrase to hold onto. steven

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  19. stevenMarch 3, 2011 at 5:23 PM

    ellen - they really do! steven

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  20. stevenMarch 3, 2011 at 5:24 PM

    reya - the memory of cool pools of shadows is one i've allowed to slip from my thinking and remembering so thankyou. steven

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  21. Linda SueMarch 3, 2011 at 7:59 PM

    Rarely do we get winter shadows- the sun does not cooperate at all. Love the tree bones on snow. very pretty.

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