Quality of Light

Last Saturday I visited the Cosumnes River Preserve with a filmmaker friend of mine to hopefully see some Sandhill Cranes and observe and shoot the beautiful light in the delta. The volunteer at the center told us that most of the birds had left for the season but we ventured out anyway onto one of the trails and the early afternoon light produced gorgeous patterns and reflections in the brush, water and fields. Sandra began shooting with her Bolex - and I trailed behind looking for intriguing images. The three shots posted on this blog are from our brief first foray - we later went down long country roads to two other viewing areas, Thornton Road and Staten Island, but the landscape and the light seemed less interesting. Late in the afternoon swarms of mosquitoes started to attack and we retreated to Lodi for a quick bite before the drive home. We arrived there at dusk and I was reminded of how beautiful the light is out West right before sunset. We had parked closed to the train station and a freight train was just coming through the station, all the station signal lights were ablaze and I was running to capture the moment with my camera. Ever since I started the assignment I have become obsessed with looking at light: morning, high noon, soft afternoon, dusk, the glowing neon signs at night - beauty constantly drawn anew.