Light Shavings

Photography by Scott Whittemore

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I’ve been scraping little shavings off my ration of light
and I formed it into a ball and each time I pack a bit more onto it.
I make a bowl of my hands and I scoop it from its secret cache under a loose board in the floor
and I blow across it and send it to you against those moments
when the darkness blows under your door.

Isn’t that what friends are for?

…Bruce Cockburn
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A tradition among photographers is to wish each other good light. These light shavings represent the coincidence of good light and my occasional ability to take advantage of it. I hope you enjoy them.

I am a long-time Olympus OM System user specializing in photomicrography and nature photography. In my film days, I shot almost exclusively slide film. I delayed my conversion to digital photography until I could get a digital SLR that was compatible with the OM system. Olympus's FourThirds system brought that compatibility. Now I shoot exclusively digital and I love the freedom and control it gives me. In addition to photography, I have a passion for mineral collecting and I've enjoyed combining these two pursuits over the years.

I hope you enjoy my light shavings.

Galleries

Landscapes :

Landscapes

Updated: Sep 28, 2009 5:37pm PST

Sea Shore : There's something about the sea shore...

Sea Shore

There's something about the sea shore...

Updated: Oct 03, 2009 7:33pm PST

Day's Edge : Sunrises and sunsets from various locations. I don't necessarily seek these out but sometimes they grab me by the collar & insist.

Day's Edge

Sunrises and sunsets from various locations. I don't necessarily seek ...

Updated: Sep 19, 2009 9:13am PST

Cascades : When I was a little kid, I loved to play in the stormwater running down the roadside toward the stormdrain. I would build little dams out of snow, leaves, mud, whatever debris was handy, and then break the dams to see the rush of the liberated water.

Cascades

When I was a little kid, I loved to play in the stormwater running dow ...

Updated: Aug 15, 2009 4:57pm PST

Out of Context :

Out of Context

Updated: Aug 20, 2009 2:04pm PST

Iceforms : I find wintertime ice formations fascinating. These are scenes involving natural ice formations.

Iceforms

I find wintertime ice formations fascinating. These are scenes involvi ...

Updated: Aug 08, 2007 4:56pm PST

Mineral Crystals : These are photographs of naturally formed crystals that I have collected from various mines, prospects, roadcuts and rock outcroppings (or, in some cases, that I have obtained from other collectors). Some of them have been photographed with the Olympus Zuiko Digital 50 mm macro lens and 25 mm extension tube; others (the smaller specimens) were photographed through a Meiji RZ trinocular stereo microscope. In all cases, the camera is either the Olympus E-1 or Olympus E-330. The microscope shots are difficult to enlarge beyond about 5X7 or 8X10. The high degree of magnification results in very shallow depth of field and the microscope optics can't produce an image with the kind of sharpness and resolution one expects from a good photographic lens. If you like these and would like to see more, check out my MinDat gallery here.

Mineral Crystals

These are photographs of naturally formed crystals that I have collect ...

Updated: Nov 06, 2009 10:09am PST

Flora : My usual reason for photographing a flower, leaf or plant is to 'remember' its features so I can identify it later. Occasionally, I get a flower (or leaf) image that somehow, for me, rises above the others.

Flora

My usual reason for photographing a flower, leaf or plant is to 'remem ...

Updated: Oct 03, 2009 6:50pm PST

Fauna :

Fauna

Updated: Oct 03, 2009 6:10pm PST

Color Slides : These are all color slides culled from the collection I accumulated before I switched to digital photography. They have been scanned with a Minolta Dimage Dual Scan II and undergone varying amounts of post-processing to correct noise and color and tonality errors introduced by the scanner (or my ineptitude in using it).

Color Slides

These are all color slides culled from the collection I accumulated be ...

Updated: May 20, 2007 1:13pm PST

Structures :

Structures

Updated: Feb 11, 2009 4:49pm PST

Art :

Art

Updated: Sep 28, 2008 1:10pm PST

Settings :

Settings

Updated: Oct 05, 2008 9:05am PST

Boston Area :

Boston Area

Updated: Feb 13, 2009 5:11pm PST

Charleston 0711 :

Charleston 0711

Updated: Dec 23, 2007 10:04am PST

password protected gallery

A.L. Sand

Updated: Oct 29, 2009 12:09pm PST