08/08/2018
Well the day started off by getting kicked out of the house. literally Irene handed me my camera and said âHere, take the day off and donât come back before 6pm!â.
My wife knows me so well. We have been going non stop on the home renovations since April and I hadnât taken a day off let alone a day to photograph anything.
So with camera in bag and tripod slung over shoulder I set off to capture the city of Spokane. I will admit I wandered around aimlessly until around noon before I had even taken a single frame. Sure there were lots of amazing things and places to photograph. Yet nothing was captivating. So fearing photographers block, if that isnât a phase I am making it one, I set my gear down at a local Irish pub and just stared out across the street.
Now to set the scene the part of downtown Spokane I was in was not all glitzâs and glamor and 5 stars. Though not far from the Davenport Hotel, I was surprised by the amount of human generated trash. I, being the conservationist I and my family are, was saddened by this. Here I was sitting across from a beautiful park and green grounds where once the World fair came to Spokane; with plastic and paper running past me with the wind.
Now with only the remnants of that fair remaining. I started thinking about all the people coming and going and I will admit I was partly sadden by the amount of people walking over the trash. To be fair I am probably making it sound way worse than it actually was. It is a beautiful part of town and it was only my anxiety around garbage that probably made me notice it in the first place.
So I had my inspiration. I didnât want to photograph the people of Spokane. I have been to this city before to photograph and have, then and now, been frustrated with the lack of notice photographers get. By means of people walking directly infant of your camera and not saying excuse me. Many may remember the âHuman Elementâ one man became to the shot I did of the Spokane falls.
No today I wanted to photograph the city of Spokane, the city alive and thriving. Standing still amongst all the frenzy and all the chaos. And frenzy of people rushing about. A city thats more alive than the people within and yet stands so strong, so motionless and so beautifully for the rest of time. Is it the city that fades away? Or are we the ones that fade away?
Across the street from the pub I was having a pint at. There are these beautiful steel sculptures of, all types of people competing in a marathon. I have seen it many times before and have seen some beautiful photographs of these structures.
Today when I saw them I didnât see them as the statues they are. Today, just like the city, they were alive. Today they were running, walking, wheel chairing and catching up. Today they were more alive than the people walking amongst them. While many people stoped to pose with them. More didnât notice their existence. Now I will say more than a few people did stop to tell me the pictures would be better if I was standing in front of the statues but I just smiled and said thank you.
As I walked across the street I felt myself, honestly thinking about the Beatles and their famous shot of them walking across the street. Then that gave me the greatest vision. We as people often take so much for granted. I thought about the people posting with these figures and the people not even noticing them; then I thought about the trash as I bent to pick up a piece of plasticâŚ
I thought how we become less interested as time goes on. I hadnât intended on photographing these sculptures. Yet there they were. There were people who had never seen them before, others who have and still loved them. Then there were the people who either have seen them so often on their daily commutes they have simply lost their appeal.
I thought about the remnants of the world fair. What a grand sight that would of been to see in person. Yet I have been to other locations where the world fair has been and they are still thriving. Only they now feel as nothing more than a pop up carnival at your nearest parking lot.
Does time really make us love things less? As I get older will I love art a little less? I hope I never allow that to happen.
With that I do hope you enjoy these two. They are untitled as seems to be my theme for the last few photos I have produced. When you see these what do you feel? Are you a marathon runner pushing harder to pass the runner on your Left? Are you a lover who has lost their love and now only see the memories of moments past?
What do you feelâŚ
Again thank you.
