"The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain." ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I'm writing this post on another cloudy, cold and dreary Cape Cod afternoon. I wouldn't normally complain about the weather. Being a native Cape Codder, I know all too well that you have to absolutely love the bleak and bitter coldness of a New England winter in order to survive living here (and I do), but this month in particular has been especially dull and gray and I must admit that it's really starting to get to me.

It's always around the beginning of March when I long for the warmth and newness of the spring and I'm pretty sure everybody around here feels the same way. There's nothing better after a long, freezing cold Cape Cod winter than the promise of warm springtime weather. But for right now, I'm just longing for it to clear up long enough so I can get back out to take a picture...or two.

"Clouds come floating into my life, 
no longer to carry rain 
or usher storm, 
but to add color 
to my 
sunset sky."
 
~Rabindranath Tagore

Linell Landing Sunset.

Brewster, Cape Cod

"And remember, no matter where you go, there you are." ~Confucius

"The goal of life
is to
make your heartbeat
match the beat of the 
universe,
to match your nature
with Nature."

~Joseph Campbell

image taken at Boat Meadow Beach,
Eastham, Cape Cod.

"Seeing within changes one's outer vision."~Joesph Chilton Pearce

I don't separate photography from any other form of art. In the same way that the painter doesn't know what his finished masterpiece will look like before he starts painting it, a photographer can't tell you specifically what he's going out into the world to see. It's hard to describe to people when they ask me what I look for when I go out to take pictures. I honestly have no idea until I'm in front of something amazing. It stands out to me. Suddenly it's not just a sunset. It's a subtle contrast in color on the horizon, or an interesting reflection of light patterns on the surface of the water. When you're seeing the world in a way that's different to how you've been used to seeing it, suddenly the landscape becomes your canvas and your camera like the paint brush and the possibilities as to what you can create are endless.

Photography isn't rocket science. There's this idea going around that, in order to be a good photographer, or to even call yourself one, you need to own the latest million dollar camera, have a fancy tripod or a bunch of expensive lenses.  You don't.  Some of my best photographs were taken with cheap equipment and it's almost impossible to tell the difference. Just approach it like you would any new skill by studying it, surfing the web, and most importantly, trying out new things. Play around with new angles and light. I guarantee that the way you see the world will change, and suddenly. . . everything you see will have the potential to be a brilliant photograph.

Image taken at Rock Harbor, Orleans

Cape Cod