Lifecycle of Water

“There is nothing more useless than a sharp photograph of a fuzzy concept.” ~ Ansel Adams 

“I wanted to be Ansel Adams,” says a reminiscent Lee Glickenhaus. “But life came along, and I found myself moving in a different direction; that early dream found itself drifting further and further down my list of things to get to.” 

A regular visitor to the Cape for decades, he explains, “I frequently drove past a simple white house with black shutters and outside was a plain white wooden sign that read ‘Richard Walker, Lawyer’ A few years later I noticed the sign had changed, it now read ‘Richard Walker, Artist’ It blew my mind.” From that moment Glickenhaus knew that he too could redefine himself. By trade, Glickenhaus also practiced law. It seemed that the universe was giving him a message–get back to what you love. “I’m grateful to Richard for giving me that push I needed to finally pick up my camera, go outside, and risk trying something that I had been meaning to do for years.”

“After years of waffling, equivocating and generally avoiding it, I finally got into photography in 2017 and right around a round number birthday,” he laughs. Glickenhaus was not new to the art of photography, in high school he had a makeshift darkroom in his mother’s kitchen. “I got by with a few Ansel wannabe shots,” Glickenhaus remarks. However, he was new to the advancements in the field of photography and explains, “I was worried that either, A.) I would be terrible, or B.) I would hate it.” But he said to himself, “What the Hell, it’s time to play!” His days consisted of an intense reeducation. He spent endless hours of reading photography and Photoshop articles and yes–watching an abundance of YouTube tutorials. After playing around with his camera, light and Photoshop, he seemed to have it down. 

When it came to what he wanted to capture, he shares, “I thought, what do I love to do? I love to be outside, on the beach and on the Cape with my dog Jessie by my side.” When asked, how the Cape influences his work, he remarks, “Well, it kind of defines it.” Early on he found himself working with the motion of the water, combining different images with Photoshop and working with different shutter speeds to try to capture what he describes as “the lifecycle of water.” Glickenhaus shares, “I spend a lot of time in Photoshop, trying to call something out of the image that truly conveys this lifecycle.” Not afraid to take creative license, Glickenhaus puts what some may call “magic” into a moment. “I try to do a bit more impressionistic stuff, rather than focusing only on what may be technically proficient,” he explains. “Right now, I’m more focused on making things that convey some sort of feeling. My work evokes feelings in me, and my hope is that it will do the same for others.”

To see more from Lee Glickenhaus visit capecodpix.com or @photosofcapecod on Instagram. Glickenhaus’ new book Impressions of Cape Cod is available locally at Titcomb’s Bookshop in East Sandwich.

Christina Galt is the editorial assistant and digital coordinator for Cape Cod Life Publications.