Charles Contant

I took these images on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Australia in 2018 to see my daughter receive her PhD. It was a couple of months past the two-year anniversary of my craniotomy for a meningioma. That surgery affected my right frontal lobe, and greatly diminished my ability to do algebra and write computer code. Not a good situation for a professional statistician. However, I honestly believe it opened up my appreciation for visual beauty. Colors, shadows, patterns all seem to become deeper and have more flavor. They also captured some of the emotions I felt, both at the time I was looking, and of my general emotional state. I still take images of objects that mean things to me; birds, people and, especially, color and shadow.

Two Lily Flowers on the island of Tahiti
Actually, there are two flowers and a bud. The vibrant color of the flowers, against the dark background of their pond, was an obvious picture I wanted to save. They are full of the light and vibrancy of their life. Yet, underneath the flowers and lily pads is the dark water in which they thrive. I find this image hopeful.

Beach in Australia
I love the contrast and shadows on this beach. It was later in the day, and the sun had just broken through the overcast sky. The shapes of the little sand mounds, the long shadows, the tufts of grass holding on to the beach, even the gray sky, all seemed to make a wonderful set of visual textures. It might look like a sad scene, but I thought it was a powerful play of light and color. Reminded me how things can change with the light and wind and time, and create beauty.

Puppy on the Beach
This image is not from the Australia trip; it is from a trip we took to Aruba about 8 months before the Australia trip. We had gone to Eagle Beach, which is beautiful in itself. I was lucky to catch this guy running along the beach in the sheer joy only a puppy can have at being alive. He jumped up to catch something only he could see, and here he is in midair, with the setting sun behind him. Life has joy.