Figure 1 – Christmas star. IPhone photograph. (c) DE Wolf 2016.

This morning it was cold and bleak in Massachusetts. There is a raw beauty in this that New Englanders love and that causes them to swear that there is no better place on Earth to live. I went over to the local mall. It is not as lovely or as vigorous a place to walk, but it does have the advantage of coffee at the end, which makes for a perfect Sunday morning. For some reason, I found myself in a good mood, enjoying the kids running around and the seasonal decorations. This one store had giant Christmas decorations, and I took the image of Figure 1, a giant Christmas Star, with my IPhone.

What I like about the subject is the metallic specular reflections. In my experience, metal surfaces of this sort can be surprisingly difficult to capture – especially with the complexity of surfaces like with this star. They seem to be exciting subjects to photograph, but often they do not live up to expectations. It is all a matter of the play of the light and the skill of the artist.