Prolixus Luminis

The notion of a picture speaking a thousand words is not novel. Nor is the idea of posting photography on the Internet. But what I hope to accomplish in this new weekly column is an opportunity to share the art of photography with the Advocate.com audience ... people, places, things, adventures, perspectives.

I am by no means an expert or a professional photographer. I’m a dabbling amateur with a love of art and photography in particular, who just so happened to be offered this little platform to share his love of photography with Advocate.com visitors. What you’ll find every week in this new column is a favorite shot of mine, and soon we’ll incorporate a favorite from submitted entries from you, the online reader.

 

On New Year's Day, 2011, I grabbed my new Canon T2i and headed to the Santa Monica Pier. I hadn’t been there in ages— probably not since a bad blind date three years ago. Shaking off those awkward memories, I strolled the boardwalk among the tourists and the holiday crowd. I played with my new camera, snapping seagulls and the tide and the buzzing amblers along the pedestrian walkway. I found myself directly underneath the seesawing dragon boat and was hypnotized by the sway. The light had just started fading, and the electric colors began to blaze along the pier. This produced a rather dreamlike flat light, shadows being washed away by neon, the sky losing its acute blue saturation. I made this series from a succession of shots as the ship sailed to and fro above me. I love doing triptychs. While one picture can (and should) tell a complete story, there’s something about the combination of these images that I really respond to ... and hell, yes, I took a ride too. But this time, no awkward blind date trying to hold my hand.