Contact Sheet No. 1
RAW Photo of the Week: “The Blue House” - Taken on April 11th, 2023
Once we reach the age when we can drive we forget that we spent the first sixteen or so years of our lives taking in the world from the passenger windows - not the windshield. The world feels different in the backseat, head cocked perpendicular to the flow of traffic; you have more time to watch something pass you by, and for a moment it feels like yours (when whatever you’re looking at is right there in front of you.). And then WHOOSH it’s gone…
But hey there’s always more things to see along the road; other things besides the ass of the car in front of you; like a blue house you wish you could live in, or a massive gate you wish you could open and peak through.
“Wooden Gate and Street Sign”
“Green Shed, Green Wall, and Tall Cacti”
“Massive Gate”
I’m tired of all the gray and beige going around these days. Every house, every shopping center, every school and market place is gray and beige! Paint the world green! Paint it red! Paint it blue, purple and yellow! Paint it any color you’d like, anything but gray and beige.
“Green Shed and Trees”
Now here’s an unfortunate truth of the road and of life: one must be vigilant; there are pleasures and pains here; the road can be the bridge or the basement steps. Do you remember the first time you ever saw a cross on the side of the road? You must’ve been a kid. Did someone explain what it was to you? Did you even need to ask?
I see this site all of the time on my drives, and sometimes I’ll see someone, or a group of people standing around it. If that’s the family, or friends, of the loved one who has passed I hope that they have found peace.
This is all for a project I’ve been eking out over the past month. I’m not sure how far I want to take it (literally), but I’ve been enjoying the images I get. They remind me of when I was young, looking out that side window, and I hope they do the same for you.
All of this wouldn’t be possible without my point and shoot camera (An Olympus Tough TG-6). When I first started taking these kinds of pictures I was hoping to get the timing right and taking one picture at a time - like a fool - but the “sequential low” feature on this camera is fast, very fast. I hardly have to worry about missing the shot anymore. Holding the button down and going crazy with the shutter does make sorting through the photos a pain, but I’d rather spend my time doing that than worrying about not capturing the moment.
This isn’t an ad by the way. I just like the camera.
Besides testing my fate behind the wheel I went into the city this weekend and the beach. The first image was taken on our walk back to the car; I liked how our figures were stretched across the asphalt, we were three demons, shadows in the night. The second image was taken after an evening on the beach. I’ve always wondered about these patches of sand that make their way onto the parking lot. Who knew sand could walk. Whenever natural forms are contrasted with the artificial I have to stop - it’s an instant story, and inherently enigmatic.
