Keeping track of images is a task that requires constant attention, yet this is one area of life in which I sing the praises of the digital age. I depend on chronology and memory to access hundreds of old contact sheets or thousands of slides, but with a few clicks of the mouse I'm able to review a decade of digital images. I use the Adobe Bridge software that serves as a gateway to Photoshop, and with years of research and writing to draw on, I enjoy creating categories and linking the images to descriptions and concepts. Places, patterns, textures, topics—all become keywords that instantly link me to collections of images. My categories include specifics, like "Lady slipper orchids," and broad descriptors, like "Trees." I even use colors to tag images, a technique that served me well when creating the "Orange" edition. One of my favorite categories is "Shadows and Shapes," an umbrella for experimentation. I am a sucker for the sinuous lines and negative space created by shadows, and I've been known to interrupt a conversation with, "Excuse me, but I just have to photograph this…," as I chase a shadow across a room. But I also respond to the intense, angled light this time of year by setting up a "shadow theater." Gourds make wonderful shadow subjects, and there are so many unusual shapes available at the market for Thanksgiving decorations. So I clear off the studio table, set up my shadow-catching shapes, and observe the light as it creates shadow surprises right in front of my lens.