Blog Archives
cold cold death
I was a junior in high school when my grandfather died; the day of his funeral was bitterly cold, with a hard wind from the north. Of course, since it was in the 1970s and I was an idiot, I wore a very short dress that day, and it took me quite a few days to thaw out. It served me right.
The weather here reminded me of that day. But at least this time, I was more suitably attired.
Blue Hill, Nebraska
photographed 12.11.2020
Winter Pool
A summer swimming pool, with sparkling water and squealing kids, holds no interest to me.
But one that’s empty, except for the ice at the deep end? Oh, yes, I’ll spend quite a long time photographing that. (The Patient Spouse will back me on this.)
Minneola, Kansas
photographed 12.12.2020
never miss an opportunity
Of course, if you have important information that you need to get out the general public, you should never miss an opportunity to turn a bench in a restaurant foyer into a distribution location.
And, also, if you’re a photographer, you should never miss an opportunity to tote your camera in with you at a lunch stop in the middle of Kansas.
Russell, Kansas
photographed 12.11.2020
a vaguely threatening gesture
Oh, come ON, Dodge City. You can’t just leave this guy standing there gesturing at me without providing context! What is happening? Is he threatening me? Should have I not looked into his eyes? Will he haunt me now? What’s with that mustache? And a bowtie – really?
Dodge City, Kansas
photographed 12.11.2020
Tiny Chapel
In 1991, I read William Least Heat-Moon’s book PrairyErth: A Deep Map, about the middle county in the middle state of the continental US, Chase County, Kansas. I read it with an atlas so I could follow along his deep explorations of the county. It’s a long book and I read it carefully; it made me re-think the way I looked at things I wasn’t even used to seeing (fence posts, for example, or a thicket of trees beside a stream). I am quite certain that this book influences my photography almost every time I pick up the camera, as it gave me the understanding that taking slow and deep looks into the mundane would yield great rewards.
Now, this tiny chapel at the geographic center is not in the same county where the book was set, but the visit here sent my mind thinking about the book for the rest of the day. And when I got home, I pulled it down from the shelf and put it in the reading queue: it’s time for a new look at this particular old friend.
at the geographic center of the continental United States
near Lebanon, Kansas
photographed 12.11.2020
One Day | One Image 