The World in Black and White
A photo essay
I really enjoy sharing my photography as bonus tracks to this oddball publication. I thought I would mix it up from time to time with a piece that is mostly photo-centric. This is one of those times.
What is there to say about New England winters that hasn’t already been said, including the stuff with all the censorship bleeps? It’s not just the cold that makes them feel long, it’s the dormant landscape with its merciless palette of greys and browns. These shades roll themselves together to create a color which, if it were a paint name would be called Waterlogged Moth. If you’re lucky it snows and that livens things up considerably for a while, until the snow melts-refreezes-melts-refreezes to eventually mix with dirt and gravel and mud to form a super polymer used by a mafioso to entomb one’s enemies. A patch for this time of year: make it black and white. And if possible add fog.
Before you know it those winter blahs and sads will be replaced by a new array of emotions such as existential dread, haunting anxiety, and nagging ennui brought on through your collection of black and white photographs that are less Ansel Adams and more Wednesday Addams.
Starting route to murdery noir film set in the 1940s….
I told Dan, I’m not working on Saturday. If he wants the deck done for the pitch, he’s going to have to do it himself……..it’s like, I don’t feel like, she’s, like respecting my journey, you know?.....Dude, my Pelo sesh kicked my ass today. Ally is, like a beast, dude. I almost thought I’d have to bail……What did he say? Was he mad?.....Zomigodddd! I know! Like, seriously, it’s like, you can’t just say that you want someone to be empowered and then, like, be all, like suuuper judgey, you know? That is, like, the complete opposite of empowering someone……Seriously, bro. I get it. It’s like, my CrossFit coach is sick and also, like, so ripped. Sometimes I just stare at his abs, like, I can’t look away. Bro, is that weird?…….I snoozed my Slack and put my out of office email on, so, whatever. I’m so burnt out on this whole hustle economy, you know? I’m quiet quitting, 100%.......and we should like, totalllllllly, like, go to like one of those, like mindfulness retreats, right? Like somewhere in Bali or like, I saw this one on Insta at Daytona Beach…….Dude, that’s not weird. It’s actually pretty cool. You have, like a healthy appreciation for the masculine form. Dude—that’s, like, next level evolved. Thanks, bro. I appreciate you. Hey, you want to meet up later for some tacos?....….Wow. I have mad respect for you. Yeah! Screw Dan, right? Like, screw the whole capitalist experiment! It’s on the verge of collapse anyway, just a matter of time. You want to meet up later for some tacos? I’m buying........zomigod Daytona yaazzzzzzzzzzz, girl! I was on Facebook and saw THE cuuuuttteesst two-piece in my feed. Okay, okay, the stars are aligning, this is, like, so happening for us! Shoot, I’m late for my wax. You wanna meet up later for some tacos?
Here we are, kids!
What is this, Dad?
Yeah, where are we?
What do you mean? Vacation! I booked the camp site for the whole week! Got it for a fraction of what it costs in the summer, too.
But it’s the middle of January.
You really want to be out here in the middle of July when it’s sweltering, packed ass to elbow with people, overrun with mosquitos?
Kind of….
That sounds pretty great, actually…
Aww, c’mon. Where’s your sense of adventure? This is a chance to really rough it like the first explorers! To build shelter and live off the land!
Dad, this is New Jersey.
Yeah, dad. We passed a Starbucks at the entrance to the park.
Just get the tent, boys.
Monochromatic snowscapes are one thing, but “Waterlogged moth” is a special kind of hell.
Your gossipy birds are absolutely delightful, Sheila, the language so shamefully, painfully authentic. If the photo was taken in the UK, I would say a rookery - a tree where a parliament of rooks congregate, but if in the US, then maybe a murder of common crows. Really caught my attention this dreary morning. The stark, misty trees are perfect prompts to any chilly or chilling story . Thank you!