Now, more than ever, I long to escape. To forget about drunk drivers, student loans, and the current regime. To allow as my only companion, the camera and a few dozen rolls of her best friends. To find a portal in this world into another.
Not for any great length of time, as there is way too much for me here that I could never do without, but for a moment at least. If only to forget about drunk drivers, student loans, and the current regime.
I’ve been avoiding this post for some time now. As soon as I got the news, I knew that the next time I wrote in my blog, that I’d have to address this thing, this horrible thing.
A very wonderful person lost his life earlier this month because some drunken asshole not worth the alcohol coursing through his veins decided to get into his car and launch himself the wrong way down the turnpike. Unfortunately this pile of shit walked away unharmed, but left in his wake, tragic death and loss.
Death in the form of Joseph Conway, loss in the form of anyone who knew him, from his loving family, all the way to my four year old daughter who delighted in playing with Joe, and who Joe treated in the short time he knew her, as one of his own.
I met Joe through Kurt Kolok. Kurt represents my work here in Massachusetts and Joe was Kurt’s partner, in life, love and at the gallery. When Kurt opened his home for me to stay during a photo trip, it was Joe who offered me his time to guide me to places I’d never have found on my own. When Kurt and I were discussing the particulars of an upcoming exhibition, it was Joe who gathered all the colored markers and a few scraps of paper and kept my daughter entertained for a few hours, playing on the floor with her, engaging in her realm of make-believe. On opening nights, it was Joe who made sure everyone was taken care of, it was Joe who took all the group pictures.
In short, it was Joe whose life should not have ended September 3rd. I can’t believe he’s gone, and I can’t believe the anguish those who knew him a lot longer than I have are going through knowing this very special person is gone to them. I especially feel for Kurt. His pain is unimaginable.
I’ve thought about an image to display and have gone back and forth from showing nothing, or a black square, but have decided that I’ll do what I can, feebly and inadequately, to put a small piece of beauty in the very large void Joe’s death has left. He was with me when I took it.
And in some ways good riddance, though I’ll be wishing for your warmth, or rather oppressive heat, soon enough. But for now, when the days get a little cooler and the nights make it almost chilly, necessitating the heavy blankets, and the windows are still open and the pillows stay cool…
For now at least, bring it on, bring on the fall, bring on the leaves and football and thoughts of halloween and thanksgiving around the corner.
The first trip to Prague was in November and so much of the city that caters to the hordes of summer vacationers had been shut down and traces of a warmer time were few and far between. But one day while walking along the Vltava I saw this. And as I was searching for an image to write about today, this one popped up and reminded me that indeed, summer is over.
Hell, baseball doesn’t get interesting until the stretch drive anyway.
Growing up in Southern California, public transportation was always something people without a car used. I know how that sounds, but the system is flawed and nothing sucks more than waiting for a bus. When I got to San Francisco and discovered B.A.R.T., my whole perspective on mass transit changed. I had experience with NYC’s system during my greyhound trips and had pined for that kind of service ever since.
Traveling on B.A.R.T. though quickly became something other than a means of getting from point A to point B. There were days where I’d travel the train to get to new places just so that I could photograph them, and soon enough I realized I didn’t even need to leave the station to find interesting imagery.
I have just returned from a glorious weekend celebrating the wedding of one of my brothers. We spent an amazing few days in the Rhinebeck Valley in upstate New York and it couldn’t have been any more blissful. Seeing old friends and joining them in passing on our dear boy to the girl of his dreams was truly an incredible way of basking in the glow of the days.
So I come home to find that I’ve been “published” by f/stop magazine in their current online issue devoted to lo*fi photography. There was also a competition for a featured portfolio which, alas I didn’t win, but I did make honorable mention. Maybe the only time I’ve been honorable. And they went ahead and used nine of my Holga snaps.
All in all it was a pretty decent past few days. Here’s one of the nine I submitted that I’ve yet to post here.
