Moonlight, seahorses and a lesson learned

Reflections

Before you read on, take another look at the picture. what do you see?

Look again. 

Do you see the seahorse?

I didn't until someone pointed it to me. And yet it is sooooo obvious. The first thing the eye notices when looking at this picture. The only bright thing in the dark.

So, how come I did not see it? Because I knew I photographed the reflection of the moonlight in the quiet lake. And 'knowing' this is the moonlight, I failed to SEE the seahorse.

To see what is there, not what we think is there. Aaron Siskind was so right saying we must relax our beliefs.

And I think this stands true for more than just the white seahorse.

A long way ahead of me, but the road, ah the road is fascinating.

Magic moments, Vermont in October

Fall reflections in a stream

Can photography take us to magic places? 

When I look at this picture the world quiets. There are no daily chores, no city noise, no emails to read. There is only the gurgling little stream beside our vacation cabin in the woods. 

My husband and I on a dream come true vacation in Vermont.

Surrounded by forest. Immersed in colors.

Everything is breathtakingly beautiful whether rain, shine, morning or evening.

Even getting drenched on our hike down the mountain.

I take hundreds of pictures. Choosing only a few to print and display at home is an impossible mission. 

You be the judge ....

Reflections

I fell in love....with reflections. 

First came glimpses of tree branches in the rain puddles. I had the wrong lens with me and despite my best efforts, all I got were some blurry pictures of the ground.

Then came the reflection of the fall color trees in the quiet lake waters. Here I was a bit more prepared, had the right lens with but arrived at the wrong time of the day.

The next day, during a walk in the forest I saw the reflections in a gurgling stream. This time I was at the right time with the right lens. On my stomach on the narrow bridge, with the tripod in the shallow water, I started taking pictures.

...and yes, I returned to the lake when the sun showed reflections at their best.

Here are some of my favorite reflection photos. Nature art at its best.

Tree reflection in a forest stream

Fall colors reflected in a lake - Vermont

A small stream, just by our cabin. Spent at least an hour photographing the changing reflections

The many faces of Santa Monica pier

Santa Monica pier early in the morning

After 3 weeks of courtship, the pier and I start to know each other.

I watched the sunset lighting the sea while sitting under it. I know how confident the birds are, perching on the pier benches, watching me as I watch them.

I start understanding the relationship between the waves and the pillars. Trying to look at them from a small bird's point of view.

Really looked at the pillars, saw the inclination angle carefully calculated to bear the weight of the structure. From certain angles, the columns looked like a multi-legged elephant walking into the sea. 

I saw the reflections in the wet sand and sparkling water.

I'm yet to feel the fishermen's joy when catching a fish. Understand their patience while waiting.

To see the pier really early in the morning, on a foggy and rainy day.

I need to take a closer look at the sea shell colonies on the foot of each pillar.

The best is yet to come.

From a bird's point of view

Man and nature. A glimpse at the pier feet in the morning sun

Reflections in the wet sand

Who is watching who?

Morning sun reflections - Nature abstract art

In a Halloween state of mind

Mid afternoon on a sunny October day in Santa Monica. Autumn here seems to exist only on the calendars.

I am walking on the well-to-do 10th street, lined  with cozy homes and beautiful trees - and my eye catches a black metal fence covered in spider webs. It lookes so 'Halloween like' that I can't resist it.

I usually tend toward soft, caressing like photographs - here I go all the way using harsh lines, unnatural perspective, contrast and light to create a scary, thriller like atmosphere. 

The blue and brown colors below are the reflections of the harsh mid day sun on the metal. This is exactly the light I usually run away from and yet, I was stunned when I saw how it looked in these pictures. 

Is this reality? Fiction? It is neither and it is both. Taking elements of reality and using them to create a mood. 

So..... trick or treat???

Once upon a ...bird

A white feather

I was just about to return home after shooting surfers and children playing on the beach when I saw it.

A white feather on the sand. 

By the time I pointed the camera at it, the sea breeze already shifted it a bit.

I can not explain what drew me to capture it on camera, but for the next hour or so, I chased feathers on the beach, lying fully dressed on the sand shooting them.

The next day, the words 'soul bird' came to my mind. Looked it up on the net and found Michal Snunit's  beautiful story about the little bird who lives in our soul, closing and opening the feeling drawers.

And it all clicked together.

My obsession with shooting the little birds looking for food in the receding waves, the instant connection with the feathers blowing in the wind. 

A reflection of the soul. 

Our most inner part, the one that stays quiet in the middle of the stormy sea. The one constantly looking to feed herself from the experiences our life waves throw at her.

The sensitive one. The one we need to nourish and protect.

This is how 'the soul bird' series was born. 

The soul bird

Under the Pier

Under the Santa Monica Pier

The Santa Monica pier is one of the most well known and photographed places in the city.

The first time I saw it with a tourist's eye. I saw the colors, the restaurants, the too many tourist shops and attractions. I remained unimpressed.

My second trip to Santa Monica was for a few weeks, the beginning of a 3 years relocation period to this new and promising place. And between looking for apartments, furniture, and the rest of daily chores - I started going out with the camera. Walking on the beach towards the pier.

Sitting under it, with the sun on the horizon, looking at the waves crushing in - provided a whole new way of looking at the pier.

Feeling secure yet a bit dwarfed by the boards above and the giant pillars surrounding me, I kept looking at the waves through the lens. A struggle (or duet, I could not decide) of man made engineering and nature's force. The power of men ingenuity and the power of nature. The static and the dynamic.

Enclosed yet open.

Dark yet lighted by the setting sun.

Alone in a crowd of people enjoying the beach and people walking just above my head.

Under the pier - a different point of view. 

Sunset as seen from under the pier.

Portrait of a young woman

This picture started as a 'let's take a break' moment when I was shooting a portrait of my 20 years old stepdaughter.

The photo session resulted in a lovely set of portraits at sunset, this picture was one of many who ended up just stored on my computer.

Weeks later, when looking at it again, I realized it's potential.

A portrait within a portrait.

The reflection of a young woman in the wet sand, but also a portrait of that particular day - the sun almost at the horizon, a few clouds floating in the summer sky. 

And another portrait, our portrait as a society. The water is transparently clean, the sand is immaculate, nothing breaks its pristine color. Nature well cared for in all its beauty