As you may have noticed, I love making photographs in the “golden hour” when light gets warm-toned and shadows grow long. When the sun is shining bright and clear, unobscured by clouds or haze, photographs I make inevitably include shadows. To me, shadows are what gives any sunny day photo drama and texture, especially in monochrome.

Photographers, whether amateur or professional, can be said to “chase the light.” Light creates shadows, and there are no shadows without light, but I am drawn to the shadows. Does that mean I “chase the shadows” or make me a “shadow-chaser?” Maybe; I like that one…

Light on any object casts a shadow onto the surface(s) behind it. A shadow replicates an object’s shape perfectly — a little blurry around the edges due (I’m guessing) to our Sun being bigger than Earth — embellished, interpreted, modified by the shape and texture of the surface(s) onto which it’s cast.

Light continuously changes from moment to moment, throughout each day, which means shadows are shapeshifters. Knowing this, I enjoy making photographs which capture the fleeting, shifting, morphing moments of light and shadow, especially at beginning and end of a day, when light is warm, and shadows are long.

The funny thing is, when I am “shadow-chasing” in late afternoon, I inevitably see my shadow preceding, alongside, or following me. Sometimes my shadow is included in a photograph I make — either accidentally or purposefully — so it becomes part of the composition. When it’s purposeful, I like to call the resulting image a “Shadow Selfie” and here are a few from today, walking at Cove Island Park before sunset:

Writing about “my shadow” brought this poem to mind:

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.

“My Shadow” (first stanza) by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

Link to full poem on the Poetry Foundation site…

A couple more shadow-selfies from a previous post:

Related haiku on my poetry blog: Haikumages

Camera: iPhone 11pro
Editing: Hipstamatic app
Photographer: Russ Murray aka “remages”
Location: Cove Island Park, Stamford, CT

See you tomorrow… 

// russ murray