My week in New Brunswick (see previous posts) progressed and eventually we were each given an individual assignment. The goal was to take a theme and produce 20 images based on that theme. Among the themes were, softly, solitude, heavy metal, and unmade bed as a landscape. My assignment was "on the verge of chaos."

It was near dinnertime and dark when the assignments were passed out and I was a bit unsure of how to proceed. After dinner I went to bed thinking about my project. About 3:30am I woke up and started thinking of just what would I shoot to create 20 images of "on the verge of chaos." I had been dreaming and suddenly realized just how dreams easily jump from one seemingly unrelated thing to the next. When I realized that dreams were chaotic I decided I would pursue my assignment as if it were all in a dream - a dream of my visit to St. Martins. I was wide awake by 3:45 and thought no better time than now to get started. 

My first image is a single exposure, taken with a time delay. It starts the sequence as if I am dreaming. I then proceed into the hallway where I'm dreaming of going out for the day to shoot photos. I set my criteria so that each image would look as if it was from a dream. I also decided that any "special effects" would be shot "in-camera" not created later in Photoshop. By the time breakfast came I already had 4 of my 20 images and the next 5 hours would be a rush to get them all done. Worse still - it started raining.

I drove out to a country road but it was raining too hard to get out of the car. To my surprise, an additional five images or so were take from inside the car - looking out through the glass or an open window. Suddenly I was back on day one - taking photos stuck in one place. I learned the best place to take photos are where you are right now. Being stuck in the car reminded me just how true that was.

I won't post all 20 of the photos, but here are a few of my favorites from the assignment.







Below is my favorite image from the week. It's taken through a wet windshield, looking down a county road. It is a double exposure. I like it just because it is so mysterious. I hope you like it too.