
One day in April of 2011, I felt like trying to photograph Beech leaves. What I had in mind was something with the pale leaves silhouetted against a dark background of pine needles or tree bark. Walking out my back door with my camera, I noticed the scene in this photograph only a few yards from the door but I thought, “This is not what I’m looking for.” I walked around for two or three hours without exposing a single negative. Finally, I gave up. On my way back home, I walked by this scene again and realized that it was the right photograph that day. It was a pleasantly warm day, and there was a light overcast. When I saw this scene the second time, I realized I had been trying to take a bold photograph on a soft day. What I needed to do that day was take this photograph of winter quietly melting into spring.
I realize that many photographers prefer to work quickly and capture their initial reaction to a scene on film or memory card. I enjoy taking the time to think about and understand the things I am seeing. I like to think that this understanding comes through in my photographs.