Something about shadows absolutely captivates me.   My attention.  My curiosity. My enthusiasm. 

I look for them wherever I go.  

I discovered this recently when I took a Photography class on how to create a project.  We were asked to go through our photo libraries and look for patterns, trends or common themes to create a Project with least 12 photos with with a consistent theme. Two jumped out of the 40,000 images in my archive right away.  Reflections and Shadows.  

I chose Shadows for my project, calling it Chasing Shadows, enjoying the process of learning how to put a group of photos together in a cohesive package for showing in a gallery or inclusion in a book. 

I discovered that I have been drawn to shadows ever since I first started photography in the late 1990’s when I took a dark room class at our local community college.  One of my five final submissions for review was of my shadow displayed on a rock in Cabo San Lucas.  Over the years I have created more.  

For example, at a workshop during Day of the Dead in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, my final project was a series of images of gravesites that included yep, my shadow. 

Go figure that one.  

Did I want to be part of the afterlife of all these strangers?  Or was this a way of making the experience of visiting gravesites more personal? 

In the Projects class I took last May I dove deeper into the concept of shadows in an effort to discover the reason for  the fascination or some might call obsession.    

It’s actually a little disturbing.  

When you think about it, shadows don’t exist.  Am I searching for some illusive something, something that isn’t really there?   That’s a little scary and could be cause for a trip to a therapist.  He or she might ask if I am looking for something that is missing from my life?  

Or maybe I like the idea of making pictures of something that isn’t really there and can’t be reproduced.  They are very much “of the moment” and totally mine.   Here now and then gone.  Forever.  

Am I chasing the future, an elusive something out there not discernible yet? 

Or could it be that I am curious about what is being revealed or concealed, potentially a scary detail lurking in the darkness?  

 Maybe my images are metaphors for what we keep hidden.  While the shape’s  outline is typically clear, the details are not.    To be honest,   I like the mystery.  

It also could be symbolic for that fact that we never really know what is going on in other people’s lives.  I learned that years ago when I had cancer and often didn’t share that knowledge with others.  I learned we all have our shadows.  

Whatever the reason, shadows slow me down.  Make me think.  Stimulate my creative juices and add interest to my photographic life. 

So, I ask: do you enjoy making photographs?  What fascinates you?  Please share in the comment section.

Note from Susan 

Life is busy and I’m on the road again.  I hope you enjoy this post from 2020