projectSunrise: Cloudy days

It’s cloudy today. Again. Which tends to put a damper on projectSunrise.

So I was reluctant to troop outside to take my daily photo, which is surprising because I thought that once the flowers bloomed I’d have ample cloudy day subjects. But I’ve discovered that I can only take so many photos of tulips and daffodils before I’m ready to move on.

As I passed under the maple trees on my block, I found myself remembering how quickly the leaves came in a couple weeks ago. Being outside every day with my eyes open and searching means I’ve become really aware of things that I’d have glossed over before. A photo of the leaves seemed like the perfect way to mark my appreciation.

I think that photography is often a progression of perspectives. I started with a viewpoint I’ve used before, shooting up along the trunk, with the branches radiating out of the frame and the leaves backlit against the sky. When that didn’t satisfy, I focused on overlapping leaves with their sections of light and shadow. And then I discovered the water droplets.

Suddenly the experience was transformed. I felt like I’d tapped into a bit of my childhood, when a rainy day like today would have yielded hours outside turning over stones and counting worms. I took my time beneath the trees, feeling inspired, imaginative, and unconcerned by people’s perception of my oddball behavior as I meandered back-and-forth along a 20-foot stretch of sidewalk taking photos of a seemingly mundane subject.

It didn’t matter how the photos turned out. It mattered that for those few minutes under the leaves, I was free.