Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Late Summer Shadow Play

Chronica Domus
Photo: Chronica Domus


Sitting in the drawing room late yesterday afternoon, I could not help but be momentarily distracted from my reading.  I scurried into the kitchen and fetched my camera hoping to capture what was happening before my eyes.  Bathed in the late summer light that danced upon the walls were images of everyday objects that sit atop the furniture.  Glass and brass had magically transformed into shadow play.

Chronica Domus
Photo: Chronica Domus


Beguiling in its transitory nature, the playful shadows lasted but a few minutes, long enough for me to capture the images I include in this post.

Chronica Domus
Photo: Chronica Domus


In our hurly-burly world life is full of little moments of wonder if only we might slow our pace to absorb them. There is a quiet value in pausing to observe our surroundings, and at times for just a little longer than may even feel comfortable.

I'm so glad I did for these images will ever remind me of an afternoon spent in observation and contemplation of life's little gifts - a comfortable chair, a good book, and this ephemeral light show which accompanies the passage of time.

Have you noticed the lengthening shadows of summer's finale where you live?



18 comments:

  1. Hello CD, Beautiful. These shadowy images remind me of the very earliest captured photographic experiments from the first half of the Nineteenth century.
    --Jim

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    1. Hello Jim, and thank you. Yes, these images do remind me of the early photographs you reference. I recall being quite captivated with several of the ones I saw at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris several years ago and could not believe they were well over a century old.

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  2. What ethereal images you've captured with your lens---the shapes and shadows voluptuously cast, with rounds and curves eclipsing the need for colour. What an eye you have!

    Some of the most beautiful views are shadows of selves---isn't it a strange and fine thing that you can tell the long-shadowed afternoon lawn from a morning one. There's just something about the light and the cushions of shade that sets them apart.

    I want these to be long-ago remnants of what was, what stood in those places in another time---the graceful property of a lady lingering imposed on the walls to remind you of your home's charming history. They appear in shimmer, just THERE, and fade with the turning of the day. I'm so glad you've preserved such delightful blink-and-miss-it moments.

    OH, My. I just got a little one off to school, early out into the "Don't you just LOVE WINTER?!" coolness of the morning, and coming back in to this quiet house, with warm pools of light and meaningful shadows of our own, the scent of coffee and the dryer running bedclothes and Bounce.

    I hope you a lovely day.

    r

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    1. Hello racheld,

      What a lovely comment you've left here, thank you. I'm so pleased you enjoyed the photographs as much as I did. Within a few minutes of me snapping them, the shadows had completely vanished.

      It sounds as though cooler temperatures have already reached your part of the world. I feel it here in California too.

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    2. I keep seeing the echoes of that scene in "Somewhere in Time," when Dr. Finney is describing the old palazzo, and how he felt for a quivering moment that he had been transported back to Italy of the 1500s. Objects and paintings seemed to shimmer in his room, things of the far past re-appearing in their long-ago places, for that brief second of transference.

      That's what these images have reminded me of---those not-quite-there glimpses just flirting with the air.

      I think I'd have to frame these three, for a long hall with an afternoon slant of sun.

      rachel---verbose, as usual

      And if you haven't seen that wonderful, sappy, sweet movie, with the ethereal Jane Seymour and bashful, beautiful Christopher Reeve, as he'll remain forever--do find a dreamy afternoon.

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    3. Hello racheld,

      I always enjoy your well-thought-out and interesting comments - never "verbose" - always with fresh perspective.

      As for "Somewhere In time", I've not had the pleasure of seeing it, yet! You've piqued my interest though, thank you.

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  3. Beautiful. Funny because today is the first day I noticed shadows. It's been gloomy but today it's a proper sunny fall crisp day and I noticed shadows. Am a bit sad about it BC summer is over and if you remember the winters are long and dark...plus where is the time going???

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    1. Oh, I remember those crisp days in London but as you've reminded me the long dark winters are just around the corner. I actually miss the darkness setting in early afternoons. It was always so cozy, at first. By the end of winter I was ready for the sun.

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  4. CD,
    Wow! So these are just the shadows? The effect is beautiful. Did you film it in black and white? Those could be framed. Haunting.
    I am thrilled that we got some serious rain on Tuesday (not a cold rain, but still) and last night was cooler than it has been. Unfortunately, we're warming back up this weekend. Oh well, we'll eventually get to what So. California calls fall.
    xo,
    Karen

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    1. Hello Karen,

      Yes, indeed, these were all just shadows playing on the walls. The perceived absence of color may be due to the fact that my walls are painted grey which worked out rather nicely I think.

      I'm happy to hear someone in California is getting rained upon. We received a few drops yesterday but nothing approaching a proper rainfall I'm afraid.

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  5. Wonderful, magical photographs. The light is going sideways, and corners that were sunny are in shade.

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    1. Yes, I was so fortunate to have been home to capture the magical qualities of this special late Summer light show. I looked for it again this afternoon but it was nowhere to be found.

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  6. Are you sure these aren't stills from Hitchcock's masterpiece 'Rebecca'? Do tell CD.

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    1. Hello GSL,

      Yes, you are quite right. They do have somewhat of a eerie feel to them.

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  7. These are pretty - ethereal indeed. They remind me of the felt backing of a glass cabinet that had obviously been exposed to sun, leaving as it did the outline of the contents of the cabinet in a permanent silhouette on the felt. I saw it for sale in a design centre in NYC nearly 25 years ago. It was hideously marked up for what it was, (and would in turn fade if the sun ever shone on it in the future, which is inevitable). But your pictures, and that you notice these small and beautiful details speak volumes about your appreciation of aesthetics. I am completely on the same wavelength.

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    1. Hello columnist,

      The cabinet with its faded felt and silhouettes of objects that once graced its interior sounds divine and something I too would have noticed, but as you say, it is these little things that capture our aesthetic imaginations and beguile us. It is nice to know we drink from the same well.

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  8. I spotted this the other day when wandering here but didn't have time to leave a note. I just wanted to let you know how beautiful I thought these were.They make me want to lower the music, whisper, tip toe - you get the idea!

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    1. Why, thank you, dearest gésbi, how nice of you to say so.

      I truly enjoyed the magic that the late-summer light was throwing on the walls and was fortunate that my camera was close to hand. There is something very special about this time of year. The sun sits so low creating a magical quality just when one needs it the most -after a glaringly bright summer.

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