Windows & Mirrors

I came across this abandoned bouquet stuck into the wire of a dune fence near Cape May, NJ a few months ago and the symbolism of this bedraggled clump really spoke to me. So many feelings and possible interpretations to unpack here.

Maybe it was meant to show the fragility of love and impermanence of life?

Or, perhaps the opposite? Maybe it's about the ability of love and the human spirit to endure in the face of the harshest conditions.

Maybe a commemorative gesture to remember a drowning victim? Could be, given the roughness of the waters here.

There’s a reason why this token was placed here, but we’ll never know what it is. I love this storytelling aspect of photography. This link between what’s shown in the frame and its connections to the unknowable world that lies just outside it.

Whether I'm shooting something for a commercial purpose or for a personal project, it's always something of which I'm very aware.

As to whether I interpret things more in terms of windows or mirrors, I'd have to say that what I shoot--and the way I frame and compose--is based very much on the way I feel and the way I personally interpret the world. I'm offering a "window" into a subject for others to interpret, but the resulting image is also a snapshot of my own psyche and experiences.