We have a deck on the back of our house, and, most of the year, the space is unused and unappreciated. During the rainy season--about 11-plus months, we joke--the deck would be a good place to stand and watch the monsoon, but believe me, we know rain here. We don’t find we need the deck as a place where we can linger, hoping we might learn to enjoy getting soaked.These past few days, however, have been sunny and warm, so the deck has been getting lots of use, a good place to take-in the still-warm light of a summer that is fading fast. I went out there the other day and did a bit of Yoga; the dogs hang out on the deck and just keep watch. There’s a Katsura tree nearby, already making quite the fashion statement, dressed as she is in the colors of fall.
We photographers live for light like we’re having here now. One of my favorite writers, Annie Dillard, once said: "Beauty and grace are performed whether or not we will or sense them. The least we can do is try to be there."
Maybe this winter, I'll take a crack at learning to find beauty and grace in the drip-drip-drip of the January rain. For now, it's my good fortune to be outside with my camera, seeing light.
