Spring and Winter Are a Day Apart

 

It was a bit of a weird stretch last week – the weather got flat out wonky on us out of nowhere, and we ended up getting a downright decent, warm spring day sitting right next to school cancellations and a few inches of snow.

So I figured I’d make a video out of it.

It was fun, actually – ended up sticking a little closer to home with the places I chose to shoot. Back when I was first starting out, I had this weird idea in my head that if I went someplace a little more grandiose – a city, or some place maybe more visually interesting than a quiet little suburb stopover in New Jersey – my shots wouldn’t be able to do the place justice. I think it’s a bit of a silly way to look at photography now, but it’s what kept me wandering around my hometown when I was still figuring out my camera – shooting almost exclusively in patches of woods by the roadside, old rail lines, scenic local ponds…

…it’s a vibe I feel like I got back to a little bit with this little edit…vlog….thing. But less because I’m skeevy about shooting in busier spots, and more because I like capturing the little bits of charm that shine through the cracks in this little town – bits that sometimes, you don’t even need to take a car too.

Anyways, here’s the latest upload on the Fernway Films Youtube channel. Hope you like it. 🙂

Spring and Winter Are a Day Apart

Back From A Long Holiday

Who would have thought I’d end up being on here less once the semester started? 🙂

Hope you’re all not terribly mad at me. I’m settled back into the swing of things after getting a new camera, heading off to Key West for the holiday with my family, and enjoying  the sheer amount of free time that gets dumped on you once college lets out for a month. Expect more photos, more blogs, and more video in the weeks to come!

For now, let me just put this right here…

 

Back From A Long Holiday

“Nothing Twice”

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I’ve got this professor that’s constantly quoting this one poem by Wislawa Syzmborska – “Nothing Twice”.

The professor’s a brilliant guy, but for some reason the first few lines resonate with me a whole lot more than the things he actually says. What that says about my academic information retention, I don’t know, but here they are –

In consequence, the sorry fact is

that we arrive here improvised

and leave without the chance to practice.

“Nothing Twice”

Dishonesty?

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Taken in the Rutgers Ecological Preserve on Livingston Campus. The place looks deceptively shallow from the outside. I’ll bet it’s even nicer closer to spring and summer, when the canopy’s a little more dense. 

There’s an argument floating around out there that doing photography for the sake of memory tends to cheapen the moment. That going through the motions of dressing up an image with fancy editing tricks and going out of your way to shoot photos in these moments detracts from the very act of being there. Far be it from me to argue. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinions, right?

Everyone’s got their own way to try and make a moment immortal. Everyone’s got their own way to respect how short this all is.

Dishonesty?

One of the first ones

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It’s an interesting experience – going back to the first photo you took with photography as the intent.

This was right around the time we were filming the old Winter In Piscataway video. I didn’t even have a DSLR yet, and I was trailing around while Patrick was shooting video on his old Nikon. I had an iPhone out, and I was shooting  with it in portrait instead of landscape, genius that I was.

Snow started falling early that December. There was already a nice blanket going by the time we hopped out of my car, trudging through the powder in jeans and work boots.

I remember wanting to catch the snow in the light. I remember wanting to remember how it felt.

I think I do.

 

One of the first ones