Drop box
But of course: of course I wouldn’t take a trip to Clovis without looking in some alleys.
Check this out: the white “drop box” letters are practically gone, and someone decided that THIS time around the letters were going to stay. So, now they are painted right on the brick. And include a handy line, in case you are unclear of where, exactly, this drop box may be located.
Just down from here, this is what I saw: under the drive-up canopy at the Bank of Clovis, a older model Mercedes coupe, red, with the top down and the hood up. And an older gentleman, in dress pants, a starched shirt, and a necktie, carefully wiping the dipstick after he’d checked the oil in the car. As I walked by, he lowered the hood. Glad everything was OK, oil-wise, with the car.
the first alley west of Main Street
Clovis, New Mexico
photographed 5.25.2013
Posted on June 9, 2013, in Photography and tagged 365 photo project, alleys, black and white photography, clovis, clovis new mexico, downtown, melinda green harvey, new mexico, one day one image, photo a day, photography. Bookmark the permalink. 10 Comments.
One Day | One Image 
What a documentary of still life Americana you are doing. Very often when I see your photos I think of Travels with Charlie. Must re-read that book to see what the connection might be that keeps ringing in my head.
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Thanks for mentioning the documentary aspect of what I am doing. I didn’t really set out to do anything like that – in the beginning I was just wandering around looking for stuff to photograph. But now that I have been doing this for a few years, I notice how many of things I’ve photographed are not around any more, so I guess there is sort of an historical component to what I am doing.
My blogging friend Ehpem (who blogs at http://burntembers.com/) and I have had a discussion about my posting a gallery of photographs I’ve taken of buildings/signs/etc. that have been torn down, or moved, or just vanished.
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I think you should ! do it.
When I re-read Steinbeck’s Travels with Charlie I will see if he went through any of the places you photographed. He was looking for America as it really was in the daily lives of the people.
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I am getting ready to go on vacation, and part of what I am doing is getting some books loaded on my iPad – after your comment this morning, I loaded Travels with Charley. We can compare thoughts when I get back – and thanks for mentioning it to me. I am pretty sure I wouldn’t have thought about it otherwise.
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I like the idea of a gallery with the photos. It’s important. And this photo would fit in nicely. Perhaps you could add a page to this blog with the photos in a gallery format. Just a thought but it would be easy to do and maintain.
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A few months ago, when Ehpem and I were first talking about this, I went back through all my blogs, and made a list of all the photographs where I know the building (or whatever) is gone. One of these days I will get around to the gallery. And you’re right – once I get the gallery set up, it will be easy to maintain.
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I had forgotten that conversation! It is a good idea, and I am glad it is fermenting, I look forward to seeing it too.
I can guess just what kind of day this guy was having, with his can of paint and paint brush. One of THOSE days. Someone had probably complained that there was no opening in the white box to the right so how could they make their drop, etc….
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I had the very same idea about the kind of day the painter was having. I’ll go back over there sometime and see if anyone’s had to paint an X on the white box and/or the door…..
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You have a wonderful Seeing Eye for the idiosyncracies, quirks and the bizarre that we see if only we apply ourselves. Another great image. Who would want to use that Drop Box, and to deposit What? That’s almost certainly a rhetorical question!
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Thank you, Andy. As you probably already figured out, I get a great deal of pleasure from looking at the details of mundane things. I am almost never disappointed.
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