Water has fascinated me since my family crossed the Atlantic by ship from New York to Italy when I was five years old. Being far out of sight of land for five days was quite an overwhelming and awe-inspiring feeling. Water is literally my element, being a Pisces. I have been drawn to, fascinated by, and completely at home in, on, and around water my whole life. Since I began studying photography the summer after high school, of course I have photographed water at every opportunity.

In 2012, for a project I was hired for, I bought a camera that had the capability to shoot video at a very high frame rate, which, when played at normal video speed, gave the effect of slow motion. I began aiming this camera at water. When the movement of water is slowed down sufficiently, details are revealed that are impossible to see with the unaided eye. My camera caught patterns of light in the water that revealed an alive being in perpetual motion. Even in perfectly still water, the light is ever changing how the water appears. As I study and learn more and more about water and the reverence with which it has been held throughout human history, my awe and respect grow. Water is essential for life, has been used for healing for millennia, and, amazingly, has been shown to have intelligence and memory and is affected by thoughts. The cry of Native American tribes protecting their water is, “Mní wičhóni!”: “Water is life!”

My intention in this project, Carried by Surprise, is to celebrate the healing energy, power, beauty, and mystery of water, the source of all life. Water has been shown to have intelligence and memory. It has been revered by tribes and cultures from time immemorial. I seek to share the fascination, wonder, and joy I feel being in and around bodies of water. I am a Pisces and a true water being.

I have been captivated by photography since the summer after high school, on an exchange program to Belgium. I have an MFA in photography and have lived in Vermont for 30 years.

TECHNICAL NOTES ABOUT THE IMAGES
All the individual photographs in these images were made from frames taken from high-speed videos. Multiple frames, or still images, are selected from the videos and then combined into the images you see and printed.

There is no computer generation and no manipulation other than adjustment of exposure, contrast, etc. This is just the water you see, the reflections, the light moving in the water, and what lies in and below the water.