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Seabirds

Patterns in shadows created by the crescent shape of the sun from the 2017 solar eclipse

I expected to enjoy the solar eclipse but was surprised by just how much I enjoyed it, even though we didn’t have a total eclipse from where I work in Beaverton. I thought it would get darker than it did given the near totality, but even the little sliver of sun still left plenty of light, even if things did look a little odd. Normally when the light levels are that low, the sun is either low in the sky with warm light and long shadows, or completely out-of-sight with cool light and no shadows. But this morning everything just got dim. I hadn’t read up on the eclipse, thinking that it was just going to get dark, so I was caught off guard by the shadows. I loved both their crescent shape and their hard edges so I spent more time watching the shadows at my feet than the shrinking sun itself, looking for patterns created by the light filtering through the trees.

Thankfully I brought my camera to work even though I wasn’t planning on photographing the eclipse itself, the Sony A6500 camera and Sony Zeiss 16-70mm zoom lens are small enough that I tossed them in my laptop bag this morning just in case there was anything interesting to photograph. So you’ll have to put up with some abstracts of shadows over the coming days, some in deep shadows like this one (the combined crescents reminded me of seabirds flying above the beach) as well as some more open shadows where there is less contrast between light and dark and more warmth in the shadows.

Fish Heads, Fish Heads

A great blue heron holds a fish head in its beak

Great blue herons normally swallow their prey whole, I believe this fish head came courtesy of a family of river otters I had seen moving through shortly before. Although effective hunters themselves, I’ve seen herons shadow otters before to try for scraps from the on-the-move otters (and seen otters make feints towards the herons if they think they’re getting too close and might grab more than just leftovers).

Do You Mind If I Take Your Picture?

A mother makes a silly face for her child

This isn’t what it seems.

I was nearing the end of a long trip, first flying from Portland to Baltimore to visit my brother’s family and sort through some of my dad’s papers as we tried to reconstruct the last years of his life. From there I flew to Texas to help my mom pack before driving to her new home in Atlanta where she’ll be near my youngest sister. The day after we arrived the three of us and my sister’s dog Sari met up with my cousin and his son and one of their dogs and went for a walk along the Chattahoochee River. Near the end of the walk we crossed paths with a mother and her inquisitive young son. His interest was piqued at first by the dogs but as we approached a footbridge and I stopped to photograph a drawing of a cat, he became interested in my camera and asked if he could take some pictures. I was happy to oblige, he was short enough that I could stand over him and hold the camera although I couldn’t see what he was aiming at much less set up the camera for the exposure, but I showed him where the shutter button was and helped him take some pictures in the general direction of his mother.

Because I was watching him and the camera, it wasn’t until later when I reviewed the pictures that I realized she was making silly faces to make him laugh.

A couple of days later as I made my way back home to Portland, I thought about how the circumstances of our encounter influenced the experience of it. There was no fear or anger that might accompany danger or prejudice. There was no busyness or indifference that is a necessity of the large crowds on the train or plane. Just a chance encounter on a relaxed walk in a lovely place, a moment of warmth and frivolity that even in the weariness at the end of a long trip, that even in the weariness at the celebration of cruelty in my country, reminds me we can be beautiful when we want to be.

Reunited

A dog sleeps on a dog bed

I haven’t seen Sari in years, she could barely contain her excitement at the reunion.