The Beauty of Shadows
“I noticed these shadows and I knew that it meant it was sunny.”
- David Hockney
I took this photo during my walk the other day. I really like it and wanted to share it with you. Not sure why, really, it’s just shadows of trees on a sidewalk.
But maybe that’s it. Such a simple thing we take for granted, these shadows.
We walk past them everyday, ignoring them, filtering them out.
But shadows are part of the composition of our lives, aren’t they?
Can we really ignore them? Should we?
Nature gives us these opportunities - these gentle reminders - to see the beauty of shadows, of negative spaces; the things we’d rather forget.
If we can see the shadows, that means we can see the light, does it not?
Would the big picture be as lovely, or interesting, if the shadows weren’t there?
What do you think? Leave a comment!
Wonderful image…I love it!
Thanks Ash! Coming from you that’s a nice compliment. I checked out your photo blog. Very cool.
Hi Mark,
I like the saying by David Hockney. It’s a good reminder that no matter what the situation, we can always find a “silver lining”.
Barbara - yup. I like his quote too for that reason. Alan Watts’ books always say that we can’t see the stars without the darkness around them.
And I believe it was Chevy Chase who said, in that classic spiritual epic, Caddyshack, that “a donut without a hole is a danish”.
I’m glad you decided to share the picture, Mark - it’s beautiful.
When I first studied art, as a way of getting us past our preconceptions of what something should look like, our teacher had us focus on shadows and negative spaces. For example, when we started drawing faces, instead of drawing lines and pencilling in where the eyes/nose etc “should” be, she told us to just draw the shadows we saw. The end result was quite accurate in terms of what the person looked like, but also more importantly beautiful and expressive of character.
Mags - I can’t recall if I welcomed you before, but welcome! Thanks for commenting. Yes, that’s a great drawing exercise. If you haven’t tried it get the book ‘Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.’ It uses exercises like negative space drawing and blind contour drawing to get you to “see” purely, not just draw what you “think” is there.
By the way - I just checked your blog - cool stuff! I look forward to reading more!
Shadows can also warn you of danger but it also provides shelter.
Chris - welcome! Thanks for your insightful comment…
I canNOT believe this. Just last week when I was unable, time-wise, to get up into the mountains or into the desert to photograph. So, I went for a walk around the neighborhood feeling somewhat let down. Then I said to myself, “Robin, open your spirit right now to this moment. Let it all in.” Right after that I noticed a similar tree shadow to your own photo posted here and I was SO excited. I started photographing all kinds of neighborhood shadows. I find them so peaceful as if they express a secret world we often miss. I went home feeling happy and alive because I’d been given magic. I now sometimes walk the hood just to capture the shadows. Wonderful!
Robin - no coincidences! Great story! Thanks for sharing…
I love the shadows! It is precisely in the shadows where we find the important stuff, I think. They remind me of that quiet place, that place where we sit back and observe, the inner place that is sometimes difficult to get to, but is always present.
Beautiful blog!