Microcurrents

Studies of the topography of water in small streams

These images are photographic documents made without excessive post-processing or computer manipulation.

The primary subject is the specular glints of bright sunlight reflecting off the surface of water in a small Connecticut stream.

The process involves wading into the water with the camera fixed on a tripod. The distance to the subject ranges from a few inches to several feet. Rather than freezing the motion of the scene, less than one second exposures are made that record the light moving on the surface of the water.

The resulting traces of light allow us to visualize the energy and topography of the water in remarkable detail, and often abstracts the pictorial representation of the subject in surprising ways.