a singular instant: my photo and the new york times

I’ve been a fan of LENS, the photography blog of The New York Times, since its inception about a year ago. The photographers, from both The Times and other sources, along with the blog editors and writers, do stellar work. Their daily posts, in the form of photos, give face to the world’s tragedies and triumphs, as well as provide context and perspective. As with all highly conscious endeavors, the perspective you leave with may not be the one you started with. I highly recommend it.

Recently, LENS created something new: a global community project in which all comers were encouraged to participate. In early April, the blog extended an invitation to its readers: take a photograph of “a singular instant that would add to a global mosaic.” The rest of the instructions were equally intriguing. The photo must be taken at 15:00 GMT on May 2, 2010. It was then to be uploaded to the LENS blog. The invitation was open to everyone, everywhere, of every photography skill level. The resulting mosaic, once compiled, was going to be called “A Moment in Time.”

As soon as I read the invitation, I knew that I wanted to be part of this thing. I also knew that I wanted my singular instant to chronicle something about Pine Meadow Pond. Beyond that, I didn’t spend much time preparing. I wanted my photo to be truly of the moment. On the morning of May 2, I spent about twenty minutes before 11:00 (15:00 GMT here) scoping out the pond and our yard.

The time of day was a bit hard to work with – the late morning light was just too harsh for good pictures of the pond. Nothing else was really resonating. It was almost 11:00, and I hadn’t found anything I felt was “special” enough.

I happened to walk past one of the many swamp maples which grow all over the place here. This particular one is just outside the window over my desk in my study. As I looked at it, really looked at it, I noticed that it was covered with pink and green seed pods. The colors glowed. The light was perfect. A simple, but glorious, spring moment on Pine Meadow Pond.

Yesterday, on LENS, the final result of the project went “live,” as we now say. Over 10,000 photos have been included in this global mosaic. The project is brilliant, never mind a technological marvel. I’m so enjoying seeing what other people around the world have chosen as their moments. Looking at all the photos is a lovely way to spend some time. Check it out here.

The url to get directly to my picture is here. This link takes a few moments to load.

Enjoy.

Tagged as: LENS, light, New York, NY Times, photo, photography, Pine Meadow Pond, spring, swamp maples