Memento Mori With American Chestnut Seed Pods

“I kissed goodbye the howling beast on the borderline which separated you from me.” - Bob Dylan (from the song “Idiot Wind”)

This line from Dylan has always struck a chord with me. I often visualize the borderline between creativity and perfectionism. Although I do have a bit of perfectionist in me, I’m fully aware that it can be a block to creativity.

At first blush, one would think that still life is not a creative endeavor… that it involves a “construction” of sorts, which requires a lot of attention… attention to composition, balance and content, and for photographers, attention to the technical aspects of photography; focus point, depth of field, and of course, lighting.

What isn't obvious is that still life can involve coincidence. Serendipity can play a very large role in creating a still life, and the artist should, in my opinion, strive to be open to it.

Not long ago, a fellow MICA student (from too many years ago), Mike Harrigan, sent me some seed pods and leaves from an American Chestnut tree. I began to play with them, exploring a composition, and the pods presented themselves as an insect figure. This is something I didn't foresee, but definitely something I recognized! The image is a few posts back.

Very recently, Mike asked me if I would like to have more of the pods and leaves, and he asked if I would like him to send me a deer skull that he had found in the grove of Chestnut trees. Of course I said yes!

Mike put everything in a box and shipped it to me. A few days later, I carefully opened the flaps of the box and the resulting photograph is exactly what I found. I recognized immediately that here was an amazing composition, already (and accidentally) done for me, and all I needed to do was to apply the amazing light that light painting provides to create an impactful image.

This is a lesson that I have learned many many times… to be open to serendipity, and the idea that the universe can drop something wonderful and unexpected right in your lap!

And once again, I’ve come to realize that applying light through light painting can transform an ordinary composition into an extraordinary image!

Happy Light Painting... and always remember... Skim The Light.

- Harold

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