At noon, I took the dogs and walked in the forest near the farm, now one of my sacred spaces on the earth. Maria was off doing a video for the Open House, visiting the amazingly gifted Carol Law Conklin, whose batiks will be at the Open House. I am usually in the forest earlier in the day, the light was different, I had my monochrome with a 35 mm lens.

My changes in recent weeks threaten to make me a more traditional photographer, I am challenged to think differently about photography, which is what I wanted. Having a big Canon camera is like having an Apple computer, it radically enhances your creativity and makes good work possible, but it keeps you from learning how a camera or computer really works.

I am learning those lessons now, the mid-day light was a new opportunity for me. I started by setting out to see if black and white could convey the sense of sunlight on new, beautifully defined leaves, not yet worn by bugs, worms and wind. I was pleased.