Now and again I am struck by how the simplest truths are often the most profound. Take light and shadow as an example.

In this series, I am going to share a lot of rather mundane photos, taken around the neighborhood in the San Francisco Bay Area where I grew up, and in the garden where I played as a child.

Simple images that show the interplay of light and shadow.

I am going to try to use images that do not have one central focal point, no interesting object that draws the eye.

Just the shapes of nature, with no frills.

The real focus of these is the light and shadow… the intermingling of sun and shade.

Because it dawned on me… no pun intended… that however much our eyes rely on light, the shade is just as important. No, it isn’t as flashy as sun on a leaf or flower.

It doesn’t draw the eye like a splash of color.

But it is what gives depth to our view. It is what makes the colors and the highlights pop.

It is the space between the stars, so to speak.

It is texture and richness and definition.

Shade… shadow… the other side of light.