The sun is so very low in the sky now, but having celebrated Winter Solstice about two weeks ago, deep down, perhaps in a vestigial pagan consciousness, we know that we have once again turned the corner, each day now brings a little more light.

That’s what we keep telling ourselves.

But the change is infinitesimal to we on two legs… we who are sensorially dulled.

So, there’s lot of winter left, and what a lovely time it is. In many ways winter’s not easy, but it is definitely not without its own charms.

I think the quiet is the best of it. The quiet is uniquely profound on the winter days when we have no wind.

The air is colder, thus denser… and the silence itself sounds different.

No people, no bustle, no nothing. Yet in this apparent void, my senses always come especially alive.

And this was one of those days. It was very cold and I was out just walking around an island.

More Sightings

Noontide

Hang Together

Les Graves

Abandon

When you are heavily bundled against the cold you move more slowly, and when your head is swaddled, and movement requires more awareness, the sound of your own breath becomes very intimate.

It sinks into you, as would the presence of another person. Yet, blissfully, there was no one.

This is an island where the year-round population is about 240, yet that day I might as well have been marooned alone. It was perfect.

Because when it gets like this, and my senses come to life, and the day just plain feels right, and I am out with my camera….well, I’m a very happy boy on these days.

Happy New Year to all.

 

Ralston Gallery is in Rockport Village, at 23 Main Street, Rockport. Open Tuesday through Saturday 11 a.m. -6 p.m., or by chance or appointment. Peter and Terri live only a minute away and are more than happy to open on short notice. Phone: 230-7225; Gallery Manager, Terri Ralston.

 Peter Ralston's work has been seen in countless books and magazines, featured on network television and has been exhibited in galleries, collections and museums throughout the United Sates and abroad. In 2003, Peter received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Colby College in recognition for his photography work and for cofounding the Island Institute. Ralston Gallery opened in 2010, at the head of Rockport Harbor. Peter also offers photography workshops in coastal Maine, Newfoundland and Labrador.