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In my last two dualities I've matched an old photo with a new one taken specifically for that purpose. Both of the old photos--the horse and the flying gull--are among the many that sit forgotten in my archives. I'm sure each of us has untold numbers of photos we have never shown, photos that moved out of our consciousness as soon as we'd backed them up and deleted them from our computer. But even if I hadn't thought for months about this photo of gulls, as soon as I saw it I recalled exactly when and where it was taken.

It was the first Sunday in March 2007 and I was visiting my sister and her husband in Burbank, California. That morning they'd asked me what I wanted to do and when I heard Ventura Beach was an option, I hopped on it. I'd arrived in Los Angeles by train on Friday and was staying with Emily and Gorsha for a long weekend before going down to visit friends in San Diego. I remember there were clouds overhead and significant winds, enough that we were wearing jackets. But, even so, there were lots of people on the beach enjoying this early spring day. I took this particular photo as we walk/scooted out to the end of the long wharf that juts out into the ocean. Having recently left ice and snow in Michigan, I was in a state of awe over the mild temperatures, beautiful palm trees, Pacific Ocean and breathtaking beauty of southern California. This gull was like my spirits that day, flying on winds of delight.

The photo of the orchid was taken on Tuesday. When I looked through my galleries in search of a match for the gull, I came upon photos of orchids that I'd taken last February at the florist/greenhouse down the street. To my eye there seemed to be a similar spirit in these two forms, but none of the photos I had was quite right. So I scooted down to the greenhouse in hopes of finding just the right orchid for this duality. They didn't have the species I was looking for, but this flower had the spirit I was after, and that was more important to me than similarities in shape.

I guess I'd have to say that the process of creating these dualities is what keeps me coming back to it day after day. Yes, the end result pleases me, but nothing compares with the fun of the search and the stimulating aesthetic choices I get to make in putting the two photos together. Today--January 16--is my one month anniversary of starting this series and I now have 35 images in my Dualities gallery (CLICK HERE to see them). And I'm sure there's more to come...