Sara Baurley
Savannah Shadows
Have you ever explored a place so much that you begin memorizing every minute detail until you start subconsciously comparing in your head what it looks like during different times of the day? As a college student without a car and an eye trained to look for detail, I have. Riding your bike or walking everywhere forces you to slow down and “smell the roses,” as some might say. Monday through Thursday, I ride my bike down the streets past historical homes and familiar oak trees dangling with Savannah’s signature Spanish moss. Biking to and from class takes about thirty minutes each way. Half an hour is a lot of free time to let your mind wander, so I took in every minuscule characteristic about the ever-changing morning or evening lighting along my usual bike route. In the mornings, the west side of the street would be covered in glorious elongated shadows. And in the evenings, the east side would have its turn to become illuminated. Graced by the wonders of golden hour lighting, everything from the picket fences to traffic cones, items otherwise considered an eyesore became a work of art. As a growing admirer of this everyday sight’s temporal beauty, I wanted to hold onto it forever. I began to carry a Nikon FM2 35mm film camera to bring these shifting shadows of Savannah into permanence. Eventually, I became a child on a treasure hunt, obsessed with discovering the next shadow. What became most remarkable to me is that each of these shadows were hidden in plain sight, but so few would ever notice or appreciate them to the extent I had. Am I crazy? Quite possibly, but so much in life is easily passed by due to the busyness of everyday life. Shadows are ever-changing, and so is life, so let’s enjoy it all.









