Light Shavings

Photography by Scott Whittemore

Your Bio

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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Photography is all about light – taking advantage of good light when it's available, and otherwise making the best of not-so-good light. What you see here is what I've been able to do with whatever light I've been granted – my light shavings, if you will.

By my definition, a successful photograph reveals something about the subject that might not be apparent to the casual observer. Further, I think a photographic image must capture the viewer’s attention and then hold it. The photographer’s tool is the entire photographic process, from the initial capture of an image in the camera through darkroom work (digital or otherwise) and displaying. Unless the objective is photojournalism, where the most innocent alteration of the in-camera JPEG (or negative) can become a serious credibility issue, I see nothing sacred about the in-camera result, whether digital or film. I believe the artistic photographer must use the entire process to achieve success.

The most difficult thing for me is knowing whether I’ve achieved success. I can see whether I like a particular image but I don’t regard that, in and of itself, as a sufficient measure of success. Hence, this web site to solicit your opinions and reactions.

Thank you for viewing and commenting. I hope you enjoy my light shavings.