Learning about LIGHT

It was my mother who taught me about photography.

She had been a photographer's assistant in Manhattan in 1945 when she first met my father.

She took gorgeous photos in her boss's studio, of her parents and my father. The opening of Lenswoman in Love describes what she taught me (though it is attributed to my heroine's dad, and sets up the romance that follows).

My parents circa 1945, shot in my mother's boss's studio in Manhattan.

From Lenswoman in Love:

I've always remembered my father in the golden light of late afternoon.

The first time he handed me his camera changed the course of my life. He sat in a chair opposite a window when the sun was low in the sky, casting a warm glow, and he said, "Look at me through the viewfinder, Maddy. Look at the way light reflects off my eyes. Look at the highlights and shadows. Shoot when you're happy with what you see in that little rectangle."

My first portrait was of him, only a few months before he was gone.

With the thrill of capturing that moment, photography became my passion and the catalyst for my career. It was the main source of joy in my life…

…until Jake.