Figure 1 – Shadow band, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. IPhone photograph, (c) DE Wolf 2015.

I was sitting with my wife at a favorite coffee spot in the late afternoon yesterday, when I realized that there was this dramatic silhouette of myself cast on the wall. Self portrait from the Outer Limits? The result was the photograph of Figure 1. Late afternoon and late fall light are the keys.

I was very intrigued by the intensity, yet delicate nature, of lines caused by dirt on the window and by the broken pattern of shadows cast by the Venetian blinds. But must of all was the appeal of the enigmatic band – originally green – that breaks the image in two.

Once again the IPhone served as the no-fuss, no-muss camera. After eliminating the color it needed very little Photoshop adjustment – just a bit of dodging here and burning there.