Light.... Without it, there is darkness; our images are null. Without light, there exists sound, feeling, taste, and scent. The "secret" then to making an image touch one deeply is in a multi-pronged approach in which multiple

senses are woven into a vision. I find that it is when I take time to connect and slow down, the magic comes to me. It is everywhere, just waiting to be discovered!

Light comes to us in many ways, both measurable and immeasurable. Visible light can vary in temperature (and, hence, color), intensity, duration, and direction. It can be blocked, deflected, diffused, reflected, refracted, and more.

Join me on my journey to find the light which made this image sing....

It all started here, in a little obscure spot along a path in the Denver Botanic Garden just around closing time (when the light hardly ever fails to deliver), where the delicate Allium was standing over the bed of pale blue Forget-Me-Nots. A lovely blend of colors, but photographically, not enough distance between the two to yield a creamy blue background, so I got lower.

From my new vantage point, I could see the twinkly orange light filtering in from behind the trees and my quest then began to determine whether it could be pronounced enough to add that extra touch of special light. Indeed it was just right and gave me lots to play with.

Now, to reveal the source of this light.... It was the setting sun lighting up the Chihuly sculpture, "Colorado," in The Ellipse in Honor of Nancy Schotters in front of the Waring House. Quite a distance in the background, behind tall trees, the setting sun sent rays of light in and around the sculpture and, by the time they traveling through the forest, it was a fantastical orange glow. Had I seen it only from my point of view in the woods, I would have left believing it to be a striking Western sunset shimmering through the trees.

Reach inside and connect with your surroundings to go from

"capture" to "creation."

When one's heart is open, the eyes will see.