Cape Cod Life, September/October 2017 | capecodlife.com

Photo Portfolio: Idyllic imagery by Michael Petrizzo

Cape Cod Life  /  September/October 2017 / ,

Writer: Joe O'Shea / Photographer: Michael Petrizzo 

Photo Portfolio: Idyllic imagery by Michael Petrizzo

Cape Cod Life, September/October 2017 | capecodlife.com

Cape Cod Life  /  September/October 2017 / ,

Writer: Joe O'Shea / Photographer: Michael Petrizzo 

Photo Portfolio: Idyllic Imagery by Timothy Little, September/October 2017 Cape Cod LIFE | capecodlife.com

Yarmouth Port Mooring

Falmouth artist combines photography and digital editing talents to create magnificent Cape Cod images

It is easy—very easy—to get lost in thought while staring at one of photographer Michael Petrizzo’s breathtaking Cape Cod landscapes. One image in particular captures the imagination, and demonstrates the lengths to which Petrizzo will go to capture “the perfect shot.” The above postcard-perfect picture of a fiery Yarmouth Port sunset boasts a baby-blue boat leaning lazily off an exposed sandbar at low tide, a magical scene magnified by its remarkable reflection on the glass-calm salt water.

“Most people take out their iPhones at sunset and shoot into the sun,” says Petrizzo, owner of Fine Art Productions in Falmouth. “But the real magic takes place just after the sun sets below the horizon, and the hidden sun illuminates the clouds in brilliant oranges, reds and yellows.”

Ironically, while making art for viewers to get lost in—“eye candy,” as Petrizzo playfully calls it—this adventurous photographer nearly lost a rubber boot while taking this shot, and was lucky not to lose a lot more. “That day, back in October, I figured we’d have a reasonable chance of having a nice sunset, so I went out to shoot that evening,” Petrizzo recalls. “When I found this location, I parked the car, put on my white rubber fishing boots, and I trudged through the marsh and muck for about a quarter mile so I could get just the right shot.

“I had been to this location before,” Petrizzo adds, “but it was muckier than usual. It got so bad that, although I could lift my feet, my boots stayed stuck in the mud. At one point, I could see the high-tide line, and I realized that if I got stuck there, the water would eventually be over my head. It just goes to show you what can happen when you visit locations like this; it was a little hairy there for a while.”

Long accustomed to the occupational hazards of landscape photography, Petrizzo always carries a cell phone in case he needs to be bailed out of such a sticky jam. While the odds of getting stuck in the mud are slim, other dangers like slips and falls are all too real. “I’ve slipped and almost broken an ankle a number of times,” Petrizzo says, “so you always have to be mindful of where you are and your footing.”