Connections
A few days ago, blogger Merilee and I were trading comments on Far West Texas; she mentioned photographing a particular mural in the Alpine train station when her Chicago-Los Angeles train had made a stop. I knew the mural, and had in fact photographed it myself just a few months ago. We decided that we’d each post the photo that Merilee dubbed the Alpine Man. Here’s mine:
You can see Merilee’s photo of the Alpine Man here..
Nice connection to have made.
But wait. There’s more. In a recent post, Merilee included a poem written by W. C. Jameson. Turns out that W.C. and Merilee collaborate from time to time, pairing his poems with her photos. But what closes this circle, which is smaller and tighter than I could have imagined, is this: W. C.’s wife Laurie and I have been friends for nearly twenty years. Those of you who know my blog The Poetry of Photography may recognize her name as the poet who contributed the first 359 poems on that blog.
Connections. Indeed.
Alpine, Texas
photographed 8.16.2013
Posted on January 4, 2014, in Photography and tagged 365 photo project, black and white photography, laurie jameson, melinda green harvey, one day one image, photo a day, photography, texas, the gravel ghost. Bookmark the permalink. 17 Comments.
One Day | One Image 
Yes, it is a very small world 😉
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It is still hard to get my mind around the W. C. connection…!
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It never ceases to amaze me how small the world can seem at times. I’ve looked at Merrilee’s image too – thanks for the link – what strikes me is how the different framing and cropping creates an entirely different ‘feel’ for this man. In yours there is an element of uncertainty, the facial expression is difficult to interpret. Is he friendly or not? One equivocates. And then I look at Merrilee’s and I see a happy, non-threatening face. One image is ‘open’. one makes the viewer think more deeply. Both are entirely valid. Eyes can be very eloquent in expressing feeling, the absence of them in yours contributes a little to that uncertainty, I believe. I love them equally – bottom line. Thanks for providing the comparison, Melinda. I must go take a look at your other blog.
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My Alpine Man photo is posted the way I shot it, too. I didn’t crop it to make it different from Merilee’s. You are right that the two photos give different impressions of the man; in some ways it is almost as if there are two of those guys.
I still cannot quite get over the other connection I uncovered while I was working on the post. W.C.’s wife was actually the person who encouraged me to begin writing, so in many respects I think I owe the very existence of this blog to her!
Thanks for following the other blog, too. I hope you like it.
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Thank you for mentioning the Poetry of Photography blog. I was unaware. I’ve “followed” you there as well now.
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Thanks for following the other blog!
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It sure is a small world. I’ve run into people I knew from Australia in both India and England.
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It’s just crazy when things like that happen. One of my friends from here in Texas was in Montreal and struck up a conversation with a random person on the street; the random person, upon learning my friend was from Texas, said, “I only know one person in Texas. Maybe you know her: Melinda Harvey?” Turns out the random person had been on my thesis committee in grad school, years before and in another state….
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What was your thesis on?
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I can’t remember the actual title any more, but it had to do with an analysis of applying a specific neighborhood revitalization model that’s used in small cities to commercial centers in large urban areas.
The main thing I was proud of was that the title included – as a result of a dare from a fellow student – a semicolon AND a question mark. There’s a chance we used to amuse ourselves coming up with fake thesis titles, and the punctuation challenge sort of came from that.
I loved grad school. I may not have learned all that much, but I had fun.
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I looked at your other blog, Melinda. What is very strange is that I didn’t know about that blog, I didn’t know about your friend, W.C.’s wife, I knew nothing. It’s really weird. I’m out here in California and I did not know you were pairing your friend’s poems with your photographs. Honestly. The fact that I am now pairing her husband’s poems with MY photographs is pure coincidence. I picked up his book, “Bones of the Mountain”, read the first three poems and BAM!! I knew I was supposed to pair his poems with my photos.
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I still can’t quite get my head around all of it. “Coincidence” isn’t a strong enough word to use, really, but I don’t know any other one to use!
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It’s really and truly a coincidence. I’m rather embarrassed now, realizing that it appears as if I am copying you. I promise you that I am not. I knew nothing. I didn’t know about your blog, about her……… I only knew him. We met each other and it was like two puzzle pieces fitting together perfectly. I told him that I am the female version of him. We are kindred spirits and his writing seems to go with the vibe of my photographs. I would never want you to feel that I have stolen from you. I don’t do that. Really and truly.
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Merilee – that idea never crossed my mind. And please don’t be embarrassed about it. The way you and WC have a collaboration, and the way it mirrors the one Laurie and I have, is actually one of the most interesting stories I’ve got from blogging. At the very least, it just shows that all four of us have remarkable taste in the people we choose to work with!
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Absolutely!
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This is a great story! Very interesting how people are connected and yet don’t know it.
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Sort of makes me wonder what other connections are out there that I don’t even know about. Yet.
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