Obstacle

Earlier this week I was visiting a friend who lives in an old farmhouse in between some wide open fields in Southampton. When I was about to leave at around four o'clock, I looked out the window and was awestruck by the sky. Behind her house the sun was already sinking low, but shooting yet another sunset didn't interest me. So I swiveled around and peered out the front window where I saw the clear, cold light bouncing off a farm structure across the way.

Wrapping myself in my down coat, I pulled my hood on, headed outside, and trod across the frozen earth. When I got within shooting range, I peered through the lens and realized there was a wire fence between me and the image I had envisioned.

Hmmm....what to do? I thought for a few moments. I couldn't remove the obstacle, but perhaps I could use it to enhance the composition somehow. Zooming in closer, I threw the wire out-of-focus and moved to the left. I had created a frame within a frame and transformed the fence into an element that added interest to the image.

Tug-of-War

As Copper continues to grow so does his boundless energy and constant need for exercise. During the summer I would ride my bicycle around the block several times while he ran beside me on the leash. But with the cold weather coming on that no longer seems to be a viable option.

A few weeks ago, I joined a dog park at Bide-A-Wee, a local animal shelter and adoption center. As we approached the gate on our first visit, about ten dogs--all larger than Copper--came rushing toward us. For a few moments he hung back but then mixed right in, even with two towering Great Danes. Within fifteen minutes, he was circling the perimeter leading the pack.

This morning I brought my camera hoping to get some images of him stretching out in front. Today however, he spent most of the time playing tug-of-war with a large black lab mix. So I leaned in as close as I could.

For an instant he took his eye off the worn-out softball in order to strike a pose for me. Luckily, he was positioned on a 45-degree angle with the sun producing this dramatic Rembrandt light signified by the triangle of darkness covering his right eye.

Thanksgiving

Instead of spending the holiday out here in the country this year, I was invited into Manhattan for a city Thanksgiving with an old friend. So in lieu of basting the turkey and preparing all the trimmings, I arrived early with my camera hoping to spend the afternoon on the street with my camera working on a new project.

But alas, the weather didn't cooperate. On the ride in, drops of water covered the windshield. At 2:30 I found myself on the sidewalk in the midst of a light rain without an umbrella and with two hours to kill.

Where to go? I wondered; most everything seemed to be closed, even the Star Bucks on every other block. So I covered my hair with my silk scarf and headed toward the lobby of a nearby hotel. Once inside, I discovered that I wasn't the only one in need of shelter. Men, women and children were sprawled out in every direction. Luckily, I managed to find some space on the corner of a coach. For an hour, I tried to read a novel on my Kindle, but one eye remained fixed on the scene outside the front door.

Will my friend really care that my clothes are wet? That my hair is flat and frizzy? I asked myself. No, I answered rushing out into the rain to follow the umbrellas bobbing by.

On The Move

Back for two weeks from Europe and just now I'm adjusting to the quiet life here on the East End of Long Island. Looking out my back window, yellowed maple leaves cover my yard waiting to be raked. And in front, an empty lane snakes by my house toward the bay. Beautiful but a bit bleak this time of year. And quite a change from the busy streets of Barcelona where life buzzes by at an accelerated pace day and nite.

On foot or bike or moto, the people are always on the move. When in New York City with my camera, I'm prone to approach strangers head on and exchange a few words. But in Catalonia, I was not so bold, suddenly shy. I spent time standing on street corners watching life pass by in a blur.

Sure...there I was an outsider, and worse, a tourist. But I learned that my reaction was not unfounded. On walking and bike tours, guides talked about the Catalans, their fierce independence, their refusal to blend in with the rest of Spain, their struggle to preserve their separate language and culture. In the 17th century, some went so far as to ally themselves with the enemy in a war against France. Perhaps these warnings kept me at bay.

The city was vibrant, an architectural wonder, but the people were aloof, in constant motion, difficult to capture.

Dog Lovers

Somehow dogs provide us with a universal language. Looking at this image, is there any clue that this man and his dog is French not American, that this park is in Paris, not New York City?

A few weeks ago on my first evening in Paris where I was staying with friends, Helene and Bernard, we took a walk with their dog, Lumi, to Buttes Chaumont, a park nearby their townhouse that reminds me of Central Park with it's manmade lake, transplanted boulders and beautiful ironwork. As we traversed the park pulling Lumi along (he hates his leash), we noticed a man sitting in an open area on a hill with his terrier perched on his shoulder like a parrot. We too decided to take a rest there to let Lumi roam free.

Naturally, the little dog hopped down to play with Lumi and the man gravitated towards us. For half an hour, we shared our love of the canine. Even though my puppy, Copper, was at home thousands of miles across the ocean, his virtual presence made me feel like one of the crowd.

To give you a glimpse of Lumi, here's a photograph of him with Bernard and my daughter, Jackie, when we visited the castle in Chantilly the next day.

Neptune

Back at home after two weeks, I've returned with almost 300 images, a mix of sightseeing shots and the start of a new project that I'm excited about but not ready to unveil. Although this one fits neither category, it came immediately to mind when choosing one to show here.

"What is it?" I hear you asking. I thought she was going to Europe, not Yellowstone. Indeed, I did go to Barcelona, then Paris where we visited Versailles, Louis XIV's castle of castles. And I do have a photo of me and my daughter grinning in front of the gold-plated gate and here's one of me in the Hall of Mirrors. However, the fountains filling the grounds captivated me most.

Ten minutes before closing, visitors were told to gather near Neptune, a geyser on the far side of the estate near the exit. As we moseyed in that direction and the sun slipped down behind us, I began photographing the pink light cast on the buildings just beyond the gate. Then water shot up from a myriad of fountains surrounding me. With my left eye, however, I sensed something even more spectacular above. In his glory, Neptune was gushing high in the sky catching a beam of that pink light.

Last Supper

Sometimes a chore can turn into a delight than can be transformed into a photographic pleasure. For a week I've been preparing for a two-week trip to Europe where I'll be visiting my daughter who's studying in Barcelona; then I'll travel to Paris to visit friends.
As part of the endless preparations, I kept eying the food in my refrigerator hoping I wouldn't have to throw it away just before heading for the airport. Yesterday a friend and I were sitting in the sun in my backyard about to leave for a goodbye lunch when an idea popped into my head. "Let's just stay here," I said, "I've got all this food that I don't want to waste....why don't we just use everything in the fridge."

So two eggplants, leftover tomato sauce and mozzarella, and some parsley became my version of eggplant parmesan. We also roasted a few orange and yellow peppers, used half a container of mesclun for two small salads, and warmed the remains of a loaf of semolina.

An hour and a half later, this Mediterranean meal graced my table."Take a picture," my friend said, "it looks too good to eat."

But I'm hungry and tired from all the cooking I thought sighing.

"Com'on, do it for me," she insisted."

*for those of you who are enjoying Learning to See, I will be away until early November when I hope to return with some more photographic pleasures!

Treehouse

Trees, there's something wondrous about them. The way they stand strong, sway in the wind, grab the earth with their roots. So much like people, each with its own personality.

So on my visit to the Bayard Cutting Arboretum with a friend last Saturday, I was captivated by a very special tree, a huge weeping beech presiding over the back lawn. It's long, heavy limbs cascaded to the ground draping its trunk, concealing it from view.

As we neared, we separated the curtains of small green leaves. Beams of light bounced off the main trunk and the many offshoots popping up, some curving over head, others lending support. We had discovered a treehouse on the ground, no climbing required.

Afterwards, I inquired about the tree and learned that it's been there for 350 years. When I told my friend, he said "I hope we look that good at 350."

W

Nurture

Yesterday while wandering around the Bayard Cutting Arboretum in Oakdale, known for it's ancient weeping beech trees, my eye gravitated to a line of coleus plants popping up at my feet. I sunk down to my heels and moved in as if a magnet was pulling me close.

One, two, three...I counted three hearts beating against one another. I thought of my daughter, Lauren, her little boy, and the new baby now growing inside her. I thought of her vibrancy, her thirst for life, her relentless energy. I thought of her glittering smile mixed with quite a bit of mischief.

But mostly I thought about how she nurtures her child so seamlessly, is able to balance the demands of the outside world with her maternal instincts. And I'm thrilled that it's so much easier for her than it was for me...now that's progress!

Tomorrow is Lauren's birthday, she will be 25, what a beauty...

Stoop

Stoops, they reveal much about the inhabitants. For years I've been looking at stoops wondering about the people inside. Perhaps, I'm a nosybody or worse, some sort of peeping Tom. But let's face it, aren't we all curious about others. Isn't that why we love biographies, novels, movies and yes, photography. They give us a glimpse into other people's lives.

So if you were passing by my house and saw my stoop, you'd learn that I love dogs, flowers, and autumn colors. And maybe if you're observant, you'd notice that my welcome mat is worn and my stoop needs repainting, that I'm in need of a handyman.

As far as the image itself, it appears quite straight-forward, but notice the high contrast between the left and the right. While the mums are in deep shadow, Copper is bathed in light. A lot to ask of any camera no matter how sophisticated. So I had to compromise, choose an exposure that provided enough light to see the flowers, but not so much that it would obliterate the dog. Either way, I had to sacrifice one for the other.

Setting my ISO at 400, I chose to expose for the mums, but about one stop 'under' so we could still see Copper. The result is rather haunting. Perhaps a precursor to Halloween. Doesn't he look like Snoopy with super-powers?