October Skies

In October, the earth angles away from the sun and the light rides low in the sky. After a long summer of direct overhead light, this change feels dramatic — sudden, even. It’s a terrific time to head out with my camera and shoot the deepening shadows. These moody October evenings make it easy to capture pure black silhouettes. On film especially, the shadows go completely black. There is simply nothing hidden in them waiting to be recovered.

So it was with this photograph on the Boise River. The reflection on the water in the lower middle portion leads your eye upward to the sky and the small “V” of trees that draws you into the scene. I like this kind of framing device.

After focusing the camera and loading the film, I pressed the whisper-quiet shutter on my large format camera. I often close my eyes when I press the shutter release. A small, quiet prayer for success. When I opened my eyes, an inflatable raft filled with teenagers was passing beneath the bridge I was standing on. Playing music and laughing out loud in the cool October air.

I was having a quiet moment. They were having a party.