Shadow is the obstruction of light… and where light is absent, shadow perishes.
Leonardo da Vinci, Notebooks
As Leonardo observed, a shadow is fleeting. It can only last as long as the light that casts it. If the light disappears, so does the shadow.
So I can think of nothing more fitting for Tina’s Lens Artists challenge on the theme of ‘ephemeral’ than to chase some shadows through my photo archives. And how fortuitous that I’m able to double up with Becky’s November Squares!
For this selection I have concentrated on shots that I consider to be primarily photographs of shadows. I have others in which shade or shadow play a part in the composition; those I will save for a future Squares post. Some of these you will certainly have seen before (there are black and white versions of them in a Monochrome Madness post from last year), but I felt they worked together as a set and had the bonus of squaring quite neatly. And you certainly won’t have seen the handful of shadows I photographed especially for Becky on our trip to Florence over the past weekend. More, much more, to come from there in due course, when I’ve sorted through all that I took!
My feature photo was taken in the Place Saint Sulpice, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris, and was impossible to square. I’ve used it before in black and white; believe it or not, this is the colour version!
My shadow on a sand dune in the Empty Quarter, Oman
Self portrait on crutches, Essaouira, Morocco
With Chris in the Badwater Basin, Death Valley
And on the bridge to Praia do Faro, Portugal
Railings in Tavira, Portugal
Church gate shadow, San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
Balloon in flight over Sossusvlei, Namibia
At Ngala Lodge, Gambia
Leaf shadows on a plant pot, Kyoto, Japan
Plant pot in the Jardins de Majorelle, Marrakesh
On a wall in Villa de Leyva, Colombia
In Montmartre, Paris
In the Piazza di Santa Croce, Florence
Also in the Piazza di Santa Croce, Florence
Light and shadow used as directional arrow in the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Florence
54 Comments
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography
Great shadows and images, the bike was a great start the gallery
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Ritva 😊 That bike just wouldn’t square!
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography
That is in many cases a problem with my shots too
Rebecca Cuningham
Around the world in light and shadow. Marvelous.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you very much Rebecca 😊 That would have made a great alternative title!
Rebecca Cuningham
Thanks, Sarah.
Anonymous
Around the world in light and shadow. Marvelous.
Rebecca
Fake Flamenco
equinoxio21
Very good. I think I might have mentioned it before: I don’t ‘see’ shadows. That is, I have to pay special attention to see them… (Cuts me out of many photos I guess.) 😉
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you. I think I only really notice them in the same way I notice other potential photographic compositions. If I didn’t take photos they wouldn’t strike me so much.
equinoxio21
True. I sometimes notice the shadow once it’s too late, when I edit the photos.
Annie Berger
You’ve chosen a lovely selection of images, Sarah. My favorite was your initial one of the bicycle. What’s yours?!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Annie 🙂 That’s probably my favourite too, or maybe the leaves in Kyoto?
Anonymous
Could I compete with these? I wouldn’t dare to try! Brilliant in composition and imagination.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you for the lovely comment, but please do tell me your name in future as I’d like to thank you more personally 🙂
grandmisadventures
Great pictures! One of my favorite pictures we have of our family is just of our shadows standing next to each other. 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Meg 🙂 That sounds like a lovely family photo!
Anne Sandler
What a great response Sarah. Shadows are certainly ephemeral.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Anne 😊
Tina Schell
What a terrific idea for the week Sarah – what could be more ephemeral than a shadow?!?!? All of your examples are lovely but my favorites are the balloon, the church cross and the closing image. Wonderful post as always.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Tina, I’m so pleased you like my choice of subject 😊 But credit goes to Becky as I may not even have thought of shadows were it not for her Squares!
photobyjohnbo
I can only echo the comments about your unique response to the challenge. Of course, the photos are top shelf! It inspires me to think more about creating a shadows gallery of my own!
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much John 😊 Why not have a go at some square shadows for Becky?!
Leya
Oh, this is a great gallery, Sarah! Love your take on – varied too!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you very much Ann Christine 😊 I enjoyed putting this together!
Sofia Alves
These are wonderful, Sarah and I love the direction you took for this challenge. Cleverly done!
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Sofia, I’m really glad you enjoyed my take on the theme 😊
Rose
Your plant pot photos in both Japan and Marrakesh are so intriguing. I found myself waiting for a breeze to flutter the leaves.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you very much Rose 🙂 I bet there’s an AI app somewhere that could create the impression of that breeze!!
Vicki
Beautiful shadow photos, Sarah.
I never would have thought of this ‘ephemeral’ subject myself and I’m usually quick to think outside the box. I think my brain is aging.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Vicki 🙂 I don’t think I would necessarily have thought of it had I not already been putting aside some shadow photos for Becky!
margaret21
These are a great set of shadow-images. As others have said, the shadows are the subject – such a good idea. How did you get on in Florence? I lived there for a year shortly after the floods of 1966 in my gap year, and of course had an absolutely wonderful time and got to know the city well. When I took M there – maybe 15 years ago now, and his first time, and off season, we were beleaguered by tourism. I was so disappointed. I’ll never go back.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Margaret 😊 We had a great time in Florence. It was too crowded in a few places (on the Ponte Vecchio and around the Duomo) but on the whole I was surprised it wasn’t more so. Chris had booked super accommodation in a beautiful old house near the Piazza di Santa Croce and although there were tourists around that area it certainly wasn’t busy and we saw plenty of locals out in the evening too. We avoided the Uffizi and Academia and focused instead on some of the slight less visited sights – Bargello and Palazzo Medici for instance. We did queue to go in the Duomo (in the rain!) and it was busy inside, but otherwise we were pleasantly surprised not to have to fight crowds anywhere and often to find ourselves among only a handful of visitors 🙂 I’ll share some walks and sightseeing photos in due course!
margaret21
Excellent. We DID go to the Uffizi, because of course M had never been. But it was hell, even though we’d booked in advance and we confined ourselves to rooms with lesser-known artists. We too went to the less popular spots – definitely not the Ponte Vecchio, but our favourite place, as it always was with me was the peaceful and meditative Museo del Convento di San Marco and its Fra Angelico frescos. Looking forward to your photos and experiences.
Sarah Wilkie
We didn’t get to the Museo del Convento di San Marco unfortunately – you make me wish we had! We crossed the Ponte Vecchio as a route back after a wonderful walk we did on the far side of the Arno, up above the Piazzale Michaelangelo to the Basilica di San Miniato al Monte (unfortunately much of it under scaffolding but still wonderful) and down and up again to the Giardini Bardini 🙂
Egídio
You picked a wonderful subject for this challenge, Sarah. These shadow photos are beautiful.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Egidio 😊 It was all down to Becky that I thought to do shadows!
Amy
Love this shadow gallery! Excellent selections, Sarah!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you very much Amy 😊
Anabel @ The Glasgow Gallivanter
Gosh, great selection. I like all the lamps, also the flower shadows on a bright wall from the Gambia.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you very much Anabel 😊 I have a bit of a thing about lampposts and their shadows!
Mick McCann
Ballooning over Sossusvlei….lucky you! Did you get to hike Dune 45??
Sarah Wilkie
The ballooning was an amazing experience Mick 😀 I didn’t go up Dune 45 but my husband did!
Jane Lurie
Excellent shadow seeking, Sarah. 👏🏻🙂
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you very much Jane 😊
Monkey's Tale
Sometimes the shadows are more interesting than the subject aren’t they? I like your street lights the best, I try to imagine what they look like based on their shadow. Maggie
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Maggie – yes, that’s true about shadows and their subjects 🙂 I’m sure you’re visualising the lights pretty accurately as the shadows don’t distort them a lot!
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography
so many shadows
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks Ritva, that’s true!
Sue
What a great selection of shadowy ephemeral things.. Particularly love those shutters and the Santa Croce area of Florence
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Sue 🙂 We stayed right by Santa Croce and loved the area – lots of bars and restaurants but quiet compared to the Duomo area and with a good mix of locals as well as tourists.
Sue
Sounds excellent! Would be my kind of place!
BeckyB
what a superb gallery of shadows – fabulous shadowing boxing
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Becky, I had fun with this one 😀 I’ll try to find more later in the month!
BeckyB
that will be another real treat 🙂