Nothing but shades of gray - the kind of day where the light was so diffused through the veil of mist that the landscape was barely discernible.  The trees blended with the sky and were mere shadows in the distance, their dark branches phantasmagoric shapes reaching out of the mist.  The narrow country road was deserted and gently rose and fell serpent like into the distance before disappearing into a small dot on the horizon.  Black utility poles lining the side were the single guide into the unknown.  There was only the occasional call of a hawk or an owl to break the silence.  I had gone to photograph short eared owls and almost turned back because of the steady rain and the lack of visibility, but I was drawn into the mystery held in the mist and fog.  I sat in silence on the deserted country road.    An image shrouded in mystery that rejects irritable reaching for fact or clarity captures the imagination.  They are mysteries revealing themselves in something tangible - the hidden road becoming visible or the branches of a lone tree welcoming flocks home from the cold winter sky.  There is a rhythm in nature on which we can depend, as the fog descends predictably it will lift as sun and warmth burn through.  

The images in this collection are amongst my favorites that I have ever created in that I believe they truly represent the mood of the day.  I keep coming back to them - over and over contemplating them.  Most of all, I will never forget the day they were taken - the quiet, the sense of awe, everything shrouded and unclear but most of all still.  The air was thick and wet on my skin.  It was an unanticipated gift.  There was no pressing need to take a great photo.  I just kept pressing the shutter wanting to savor the mood.  As I watched, suddenly a flock of birds that was hidden in the trees took off and swirled like a swarm before flying off into the gray sky.  I think this was the first time I captured exactly what I felt.  When I look at the photographs I am transported back into that time and place.

These images arose from an experience, nothing more.  There was no reaching after fact or reason, there was no trying to get the perfect exposure or composition.  There was just the still point.  Times such as these are a rarity.  They are accidental and sure to never happen when being preoccupied with looking for them.

"…and remember only this: the only beauty in life is that     beauty can sometimes occur. "

Dancer: A Novel, Colum McCann