"Each moment is a place you've never been." ~Mark Strand

"Anywhere is paradise; it's up to you."
~Author Unknown

Images taken at Rock Harbor, Orleans.

"Confusion now hath made his masterpiece."~William Shakespeare

"I went to the woods
because
I wished to live
deliberately,
to front
only the essential
facts
of life,
and see
if I could not learn
what it had
to teach,
and not,
when I came to die,
discover that I had not
lived."

~Henry David Thoreau

Images taken at Nickerson State Park
Brewster

"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

"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

"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.

"The air of summer was sweeter than wine."~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

There’s something almost majestic about the night. Especially tonight with the fog. . . the way it eerily creeps its way through the weeds and covers the earth like a wet blanket. There’s no wind. The street lights cast their hazy, halo-like glow through the mist, mirroring their reflections in the puddles beneath them. It’s quiet. It’s the kind of deafening silence that makes you feel as if you’re the only person left in the world. . .

The fog evokes a feeling like I've been here before. It's mysterious and otherworldly in some way. . . like something you'd read about in a fairytale.

Images taken at Paine's Creek and Point of Rocks Beach
Brewster.

June 28th, 2008

"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