Imagination in Isolation

Icarus's Ghost

The above photograph almost made it into the book.   When I framed it, I wanted the lines of the sand to lead the eye to the cloud formation.  I imagine many things while I'm out, especially when I view cloud formations.  This particular formation made me think of Icarus leaving the bounds of the Earth and heading toward his sunny destiny.  With his arms pushed back, knees bent, head toward the sky with only one goal in mind.  That's what I saw when I pressed the shutter button.  When I finally showed this piece to a few people, they didn't see much more than lines and a few clouds.  

I'm not easily influenced by what others think about my work, but this time I had to listen.  The book is more about making a connection to the viewer through the photographs and stories.  Each of the photographs intended for the book were selected based on a number of questions.  When an image passed, it was considered for the next round of cuts.  Icarus's Ghost made it all the way to the end, but fell short on the final cut.  I still find reasons to enjoy this image.  Others may find they enjoy the image as well, but it just doesn't fit the goal of the INVISIBLE project.