The Shadows of Our Lives

Shadows are too often used to portray the sinister (“lurking in the shadows” – Don’t people lurk in the sunshine?) or scary (“shadow of death” – Who knew death had a shadow?). In photography shadows are often what brings interest to a picture. While the shadows often are used to accentuate the starring lighter areas in a picture, sometimes shadows have an equal or even starring role.

The fence shadows on a beautiful sidewalk bring value to the image and even tell an early morning story themselves.

The late afternoon shadows on a storage tank seem playfully dramatic.

This Civil War photo (reenactment – I’m not THAT old!) would be dull and lifeless without the shadows. The shadows made me want to know what the soldier was thinking.

Shadows help tell the story; both in pictures and in our lives.