"You don't take a photograph. You ask, quietly, to borrow it."~Author Unknown

So it's officially the unofficial last weekend of the summer on the Cape and I couldn't be happier to see it come to an end. It was actually a pretty amazing summer for me. I accomplished much more than I thought would be possible in the beginning...spent a ton of time with my guys...hardly sat in a single traffic jam...and was able to take photos almost every single day. Can't complain about that!

But Cape Cod isn't anything like it used to be after Labor Day anymore though. When I was growing up in Chatham, the day after Labor Day meant quiet. I mean run through the streets downtown quiet. Even the weather cooled off. The first day of school would be brisk enough for that new wool button-up your mom bought for you on sale at the Head and Foot (you're a true native if you know what store that is). But now, even though things definitely wind down, it stays pretty lively around here. Running through the streets of town these days would land you in the loony bin. But running on the flats of Cape Cod Bay when it's 22 degrees and snowing is totally acceptable...and I'm so looking forward to it!


Image taken at Point of Rocks Beach after getting
caught on a flat when the tide came in.
Brewster, Cape Cod.
Labor Day Weekend 2008

"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul." ~John Muir

"Reality leaves a lot to the imagination."~John Lennon

"Sit in reverie
and watch the changing color 
of the waves
that break upon the idle seashore
of the mind."

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Linnell Landing.
Brewster, Cape Cod.
August 2008

"Sunday clears away the rust of the whole week."~Joseph Addison

"Look at the
trees,
look at the
birds,
look at the
clouds,
look at the
stars...
and if you have eyes
you will be able to see
that the whole existence
is joyful."

~Osho

Images taken at Boat Meadow Beach, Eastham
and Rock Harbor, Orleans.

August 2008

"My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am."~Author Unknown

Every so often, my husband and I decide to act like really good dog owners and pack up the car, kids and all, and head over to the dog park. Drummer Boy Park, an unofficial dog park where everyone who owns a dog in Brewster takes their furry friends to run and socialize just so happens to be a pretty great spot to take the kids too. There's no better way to spend a gorgeous fall-like morning like this than right here. . .

"Weekends don't count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless." ~Bill Watterson

Dog Park @ Yahoo! Video

"Anything simple always interests me." ~David Hockney

With summer winding down...finally, I've been noticing those subtle changes in the light that seem to be happening more and more every day. It's taking on that wonderful clarity that it just doesn't have in the summer. It paints itself onto everything bringing out those intricate little details that would normally go unnoticed. It holds onto the tree tops and branches a little bit longer and casts all sorts of interesting shapes and shadows underneath them. I wonder if everybody gets as excited about the light as I do?

Images taken at Town Cove, Orleans.
Cape Cod.
August 2008

"What art offers is space - a certain breathing room for the spirit." ~John Updike

Some of my favorite moments of my day are when I'm working on my photography with one (or all three) of my boys. David, my youngest, who's still far too young to care about having his photo taken on a daily basis, is a terrific model when I'm working to fine tune my portrait photography.

Taking beautiful candid photographs is fairly easy if you take a couple of things into consideration first. Lighting in crucial, but don't let that scare you. Natural sunlight is your best friend. Don't be afraid to play around with it at different points in the day. You're eventually going to find that time of the day that you know you'll be the most comfortable with. After a while, you'll be an expert at positioning your subject in the light in just the perfect way as to bring out their own natural beauty like a pro.

Another trick is to work on your composition. It's one of the key factor's when deciding a really stand out shot from just an average, ordinary one. For example, when I'm shooting landscapes, the sky and clouds are always my main focus, not the actual subject itself. It's sounds weird I know, but having a great background takes the shot to a whole other level. Really, anything can become a part of your composition, the point is to fine tune that and incorporate it into your work. A good way to practice is by using unique angles and positioning. Just by changing the perspective a little bit here and there (point your camera above the subject instead of straight at him) can create a whole other composition altogether. It makes a boring old portrait fresh and interesting. This is also going to help you to define your individual style.

Finally, just have fun with it. If you're going to be overly stressed about capturing the "perfect" shot, it's never going to happen. The most perfect shots only ever happen unintentionally anyway.

"The night walked down the sky with the moon in her hand." ~Frederick L. Knowles

It's probably pretty obvious with my photography that my main focus tends to be on the evening sky. It's in those moments which lead up to and immediately follow the setting sun which I'm always raving about...probably a little bit too much. I love the rich, brilliant colors. The silhouettes and shadows of the landscape. The depth and textures of the darkening clouds and sky. Even the energy changes. It's nature's magic show, and I love every gorgeous second of it.

"What I take from my nights, I add to my days."
~Leon de Rotrou

"It is tranquil people who accomplish much."~Henry David Thoreau

Sometimes when the sky is flat and cloudless as it was tonight, I look for plays on light and reflection using something simple, like a buoy or a rock. I absolutely love minimalist photography and have quite a few shots like these within my portfolio. These are the shots that look the best in a frame and even more incredible in a grouping hanging on the wall.

Images taken at Foster Landing, Brewster.
August 2008

"Simplicity is that grace which frees the soul from all unnecessary reflections upon itself."~
Francois de Salignac Fenelon

"Kids: they dance before they learn there is anything that isn't music." ~William Stafford

I took David to the bay with me this afternoon because I wanted to work on my compositions using the late afternoon sun. Not only are the tidal flats on Cape Cod Bay better than any playground anywhere, they also make a pretty decent office space, too. I'm not sure what it is that I enjoy more though...my photography... or watching David having so much fun running on the beach!

The light was absolutely gorgeous today and there was a mellow breeze blowing...just enough to cool you off and keep the bugs away. There was a sizable cloud bank on the horizon and I could hear thunder in the distance so I made sure not to wander too far away. On a nice day, it's easy to get carried away and end up miles from where you started. There's just something about the flats that make me want go as far as my eye can see. But today we played it safe and stayed pretty close to the shore. I used the clouds and sun, David, and this boat as my models and was able to shoot quite a few great shots.

And then we left... right before the rain.

Cape Cod Bay, Brewster.
August 2008

"To him whose elastic and vigorous thought keeps pace with the sun, the day is a perpetual morning."~Henry David Thoreau

"Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it."~Buddha

 To look backward 

for a while 

is to refresh the eye, 

to restore it, 

and to render it 

the more fit 

for its prime function 

of looking

forward.  

~Margaret Fairless Barber

Images taken at Snow Shore.

Orleans, Cape Cod.

August 2008

"Photograph: a picture painted by the sun without instruction in art." ~Ambrose Bierce

Images taken at Stage Harbor... my favorite Chatham photo spot (just in case you couldn't tell!).

Chatham, Cape Cod.

August 2008

"The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea." ~Isak Dinesen

"From within or from behind, a light shines through us upon things, and makes us aware that we are nothing, but the light is all."~Ralph Waldo Emerson

No, it isn't snowing in the summer, although I must admit that I'm already looking forward to it. Well, maybe not necessarily the snow or even the freezing cold temperatures for that matter (not quite yet anyways). What I'm anticipating the most is for that brilliant, golden autumn and winter light that Cape Cod is so famous for. That specific shade of shimmery yellow that falls so gracefully upon everything in its path, bathing it all in it's stunning beauty (that's me trying to sound poetic).

If you've ever experienced those moments just as the sun slowly sinks beneath the horizon in the fall or wintertime, you know exactly what I'm talking about. It's a spiritual experience. It penetrates your soul. If you haven't, you have no idea what you've been missing.

"Light is, perhaps, the most wonderful of all visible things."
~Leigh Hunt

"How dear to my soul is the mild twilight hour!"~Thomas Moore

"How lovely
are the portals of the night,
When stars come out
to watch
the daylight die."

~Thomas Cole

Images taken at Boat Meadow Beach, 

Eastham, Cape Cod
August 2008

"In quiet places, reason abounds."~Adlai Stevenson

"Beauty
itself
is but the sensible image
of the
Infinite."

~George Bancroft

Images taken at Ellis Landing
after a brief downpour.
Cape Cod Bay, Brewster.

"And the wind plays on those great sonorous harps, the shrouds and masts of ships."~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"Day
hath put on his jacket,
and around
His burning bosom
buttoned it
with
stars."

~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Images taken at sunset on Cape Cod Bay.

Brewster.

August 1st, 2008.