Essays taken from a weekly newspaper column published in the Washington County News, Washington, Kansas. Look for my book, "Dispatches From Kansas," available from Amazon.com, or from the author.
Kim -- Glad I could help. I'm not fully happy with anything I captured today and sense something missing. Being exhausted doesn't help, didn't help, won't help. Maybe tomorrow I can revisit the images, if not the place itself, with fresh eyes. After watching several documentaries with Paul Caponigro, Richard Avedon, Annie Lebowitz and John Sexton, among others, I feel like a rank amateur with so much to learn. That I was able to bring inspiration or brightness to another person defines the mystery, and the promise, of photography. Thanks for the feedback. It keeps me running.
My favorites of this batch are #1, #4, and #7. I love doors, and the door in the first pic is so detailed and wonderfully incongruous with the surrounding wall. I don't know why I like the barrel photo, but it just jumps out at me. The tilted clothesline post (in color), though, is my favorite, I think. Again, it's hard to pinpoint exactly what I like so much about it, but it has this wonderful moody quality. The post cutting through the photo at just the right angle is like an exclamation point punctuating the scene, adding weight and emphasis.
Jenni -- I don't know why I like the barrel photo either. When we were out shooting yesterday my wife pointed to the old farm implement and asked me to take a photo of it. I headed for the barrels. She rolled down her window to correct my apparent lack of attention at which time I informed her first things first. I'm still disappointed in the clotheslines and will work on them until I get so tired of them I delete them. Maybe I'll return some morning... I loved your analogy of an exclamation point.
Sheesh. Okay, okay, I'll bring back/add the original clothesline. No extra coloring or saturation was used in the image. It was an odd sight, the old clothesline with one new-looking wash cloth hanging on colored pins and beside it the remains of a house that had burned to the ground. Very evocative.
I just realized that in my panic to save that photo I forgot to mention why I responded so to the red and green.
I saw the lights at the bow of a ship - and the pole itself the bowsprit. There's the beginning of a poem in my files now, entitled something like, "Sailing Through Ordinary Time", or "A Voyage Through Ordinary Time". Something.
I saw the photo and got the title simultaneously. Isn't it funny how that happens?
The photo of Welch's Meat Locker/Grocery brought back some memory. I use to service that store in the early 90s to mid 90s. I called on them weekly. CH
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12 comments:
I love the old planter . . . and the locker plant sign . . . and the swing, and . . . You just brightened my evening.
Kim -- Glad I could help. I'm not fully happy with anything I captured today and sense something missing. Being exhausted doesn't help, didn't help, won't help. Maybe tomorrow I can revisit the images, if not the place itself, with fresh eyes. After watching several documentaries with Paul Caponigro, Richard Avedon, Annie Lebowitz and John Sexton, among others, I feel like a rank amateur with so much to learn. That I was able to bring inspiration or brightness to another person defines the mystery, and the promise, of photography. Thanks for the feedback. It keeps me running.
Tomorrow is always a better day, friend. (and I think the thing you think is missing would be . . . sleep)
Thank you, Tom for another month of photographs. They are a daily gift to open.
You change the way I see my own world. I catch myself thinking, "That would make a good picture!".
I am glad you found your passion for words and pictures. And, that you share it.
Anonymous
And thank you for joining us on this journey.
But hey, there's one more day in the month! Where shall I go today...
My favorites of this batch are #1, #4, and #7. I love doors, and the door in the first pic is so detailed and wonderfully incongruous with the surrounding wall. I don't know why I like the barrel photo, but it just jumps out at me. The tilted clothesline post (in color), though, is my favorite, I think. Again, it's hard to pinpoint exactly what I like so much about it, but it has this wonderful moody quality. The post cutting through the photo at just the right angle is like an exclamation point punctuating the scene, adding weight and emphasis.
Jenni -- I don't know why I like the barrel photo either. When we were out shooting yesterday my wife pointed to the old farm implement and asked me to take a photo of it. I headed for the barrels. She rolled down her window to correct my apparent lack of attention at which time I informed her first things first. I'm still disappointed in the clotheslines and will work on them until I get so tired of them I delete them. Maybe I'll return some morning... I loved your analogy of an exclamation point.
I like the swing. Nothing says sad to me like an old broken swing.
Oh, my gosh! Don't delete those clothesline photos! They're the most evocative of this group!
Did you color the pins red and green, or take away the color? I NEED that one with the red and green - but even as it is now, it's just the best.
Sheesh. Okay, okay, I'll bring back/add the original clothesline. No extra coloring or saturation was used in the image. It was an odd sight, the old clothesline with one new-looking wash cloth hanging on colored pins and beside it the remains of a house that had burned to the ground. Very evocative.
I just realized that in my panic to save that photo I forgot to mention why I responded so to the red and green.
I saw the lights at the bow of a ship - and the pole itself the bowsprit. There's the beginning of a poem in my files now, entitled something like, "Sailing Through Ordinary Time", or "A Voyage Through Ordinary Time". Something.
I saw the photo and got the title simultaneously. Isn't it funny how that happens?
The photo of Welch's Meat Locker/Grocery brought back some memory. I use to service that store in the early 90s to mid 90s. I called on them weekly.
CH
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