Everyday Magic
Today I invite you to look through multiple camera lenses and follow many stories. Let’s begin with Wilson Bentley, born today in 1865 on a farm in Jericho, Vermont. Snowflake Bentley lived “ In the days when farmers worked with ox and sled and cut the dark with lantern light”… and he “loved snow more than anything else in the world.”
Bentley’s passion for the wonders of nature inspired and drove him to study snow. He was convinced of the magic inherent in each snowflake and developed the “technique of microphotography” which enabled him to preserve snowflakes long enough to photograph and capture their fleeting beauty. Because of Snowflake Bentley we know that each snowflake is a unique, six sided creation.
In his time, Bentley became known as the world’s expert on snow. With the financial help of fellow scientists, Snow Crystals, by Bentley was published not long before he died. A museum in Jericho, Vermont and a monument in the town square pay tribute to his life’s work. Thanks to Snowflake Bentley we know to follow our hearts and believe in the wonder of snow.
Turning the lens to Wolf Hollow, PA both title and setting of Lauren Wolk’s profound novel we meet Annabelle, a bright and courageous 11 year old with a strong moral compass to guide her difficult days. Annabelle’s days are filled with farm chores and the daily journey to the one room school house where she works hard to make something of her innate intelligence.
The luck of winning a camera from Kodak brings the world of photography to her family’s farm, an unknown luxury in 1943 during wartime: “It was as if we had received a tiny spaceship or a time machine, so astounding was this gift.” The beauty of the peach orchard inspires Annabelle to try her hand with the camera, but instead it ends up in Toby’s hands, a WWI veteran who lives off of the land on the outskirts of her family’s farm.
Toby cannot forgive himself for what he did during wartime and now lives a solitary life searching for peace and his skill with the camera reflects this quest: “a red-tailed hawk with a rabbit in its beak, a thunderhead glazed in evening light, a deer napping in a patch of mayapples”… Toby, quiet enough to approach a sleeping deer, and “a hungry man who would shoot one (deer) with a camera instead of a gun”.
It is Toby’s respect for the dignity of the natural world that allows Annabelle to trust him and trust him she must. A photograph cannot always capture the truth.
A few more lenses to consider — the camera obscura, the tool that aided Johannes Vermeer in his painting. Tracy Chevalier captures a slice of Vermeer’s world in her novel, The Girl With the Pearl Earring. You can view this story through the lens of film as well and consider the debate of which is better, novel or film…
And finally, for now, Still Life With Bread Crumbs, by Anna Quindlen. Rebecca Winter has become famous from a photograph taken whimsically after waking to find no elves have come to do the dishes she was too exhausted to conquer, instead falling asleep and waking early to find the mess. Hence, Still Life With Bread Crumbs and the additional photographs that make up The Kitchen Counter series that follows. Eventually, the money from this accidental jackpot runs out.
Running out of money and options, Rebecca sublets her New York City apartment and takes on life in a small town. Without intention, Rebecca stumbles into a new way of life. She learns to love and embrace small town life and sees life through a new lens, the eyes of Jim Bates.
Rebecca’s photograph sums up the idea of everyday magic. Who can say what will capture our attention: snowflakes, a sleeping deer, a girl with a pearl earring, the aftermath of a dinner party…
