A delicate dance

Photographing architecture, while interesting, is a huge challenge—to make an inanimate structure look like the crown jewel of its surroundings. It’s not an easy task and I have utmost admiration for those who know how to negotiate the light to be just so. I think of it like a little ballet—so delicate, and the exertion appears effortless in its beautiful performance.

I danced with the light recently when I was asked to photograph elements of a new housing development. I had taken my rumpled mess out of bed early one morning to wait for the sun :: to dance with the early morning light. And I had felt it failed. The photographs, were in my opinion, flat-footed.

I waited again for the next opportunity. Perhaps later in the day would provide better light, I thought, a more appropriate time to capture the shape and form of the building in relationship to its surroundings. But as you know, it’s been an early, damp and dark fall here in the Midwest. So all of those things combined weren’t exactly in my favor. So, I waited. And waited. Watched the light in the evenings over the course of several days, and one late afternoon, grabbed my camera gear and ran out the door, saying, “this is it.”

Evening clouds had begun to roll in—an approaching weather system that I hoped would quietly diffuse the light as shadows grew longer. And as the evening colors grew more intense, the light began to dance a breathtaking display of resplendent beams through the landscape—that no amount of Photoshop could ever touch (or would ever want to, for that matter). I feel lucky to have witnessed such an outpouring of beauty, and grateful to have captured it through my lens.