By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
CHEROKEE, N.C. – Nashoba Tushka jaunted into the end zone during a game at Ray Kinsland Memorial Stadium on Thursday evening. As I looked at the photo during a break and saw the silhouettes of people past the end zone – people covered in shadows, long shadows, I knew that autumn was on the way. The shadows are coming back.
Nathaniel Hawthorne, 19th century American novelist, once said, “Time flies over us but leaves its shadow behind.”
Nashoba Tushka, a member of the Tsalagi Anitsvyasdi (Cherokee Braves) junior varsity football team runs into the end zone during a game at Ray Kinsland Memorial Stadium in Cherokee, N.C. on the evening of Thursday, Aug. 21. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photo)
Shadows are often spoken about as being in the background. For me, shadows are the main character of autumn. They tell me that nature is winding itself down for the year and is about to recycle itself yet again – a process it has done since time immemorial.
As I’ve written about before, photographs capture a singular moment in time – a moment that will never, ever happen again. Shadows are the same. The same shadow will never occur again. It might return day-after-day, but it will never be exactly the same.
That’s the lesson in shadows. Enjoy them while they are here. Appreciate them while they are here. Take photos of them while they are here.
Sophocles, 5th century Greek playwright, once said, “A human being is only breath and shadow.”
That’s a dim view of mankind, but I understand what he was getting at with that quote – or, at least I feel I do. We are here, and we breathe and cast shadows. How those breaths and those shadows are remembered, and the impact that they have, is up to us.
Those longer shadows of autumn give us an opportunity to enjoy the dimming light and the longer nights – both of which can provide introspection if we allow it the chance. Light can be a photographer’s friend or worst foe. We constantly seek the light. We constantly seek the results that can come from good lighting. We constantly seek what is fleeting – the light.
Longer shadows mean that we have less light, but I see it as better, more controlled, more focused light. Longer shadows mean that we are in a time of fading but also a time of brightness. Most disagree, but I find shadows to be brilliantly lit. They cast down on us like a blanket, but instead of warmth, they provide cold, chilly afternoons – but afternoons full of light and full of hope.
I love shadows. I love longer shadows. For me, getting to see that shadow while capturing images on an autumn day is true joy.
