Still life

Click, buzz…whoosh! It's a humid, August day, and the icy breeze offers a mostly welcome reprieve. I've been sitting in the same place on the carpet for what seems like hours though. While it's preferable to the hot afternoon sun, my right side, closest to the vent, is still freezing from the last time the air conditioner kicked on. There's not much choice for seating. My Grandmother's small apartment wasn't designed for this many visitors. Still, here we are, after church on a Sunday afternoon in 1992, watching slides from a relative's recent trip to Grand Canyon. With the projector focused on the only open space left on the eggshell colored walls, we viewed the photos one by one. A few were shots of family members in scenic spots, proof of a vacation well deserved. Other photos were devoid of people, intended to put us in the shoes of the photo taker.

The winter that Amy and I worked at Grand Canyon National Park was record breaking for snowfall. Winter is a great time to hike into the canyon. The 5,000’ drop in elevation results in warmer temperatures at the bottom of the canyon that are often 15 to 20 degrees higher than the temperature at the rim.

That is probably more of an amalgamation of several memories that blended over the years. Many of you have similar memories though. Gathered with friends and family, sharing a slideshow of photos from memorable trips in a more personal setting. Different from flipping through a photo album, this gave us a shared experience. An opportunity to engage in visual media together, with it’s creator in the room to provide commentary, context, and clarity. A precursor to social media and the digital age, this photo sharing was organic, real, and personal.

From the cliffs of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The cold, clear waters of Lake Superior churn on the boulder strewn shoreline.

In my transition away from traditional social media platforms I hope to increase my photo sharing in a way that will feel more impactful to those who see them. Not just part of mindless scrolling, but something with substance. I'm adding photos to flickr. It will take awhile to add them all and provide context, but you're welcome to see what's there. I prefer photos to videos because I think it leaves something more to the viewer. You can put yourself in the photo and create your own context, you can linger and explore the significance of a single moment, or you can just stare.

Early morning dew and frost in Olympic National Park provides an added layer to the scenery.

I’m nowhere near a professional photographer, and I don’t strive to be, but I do like to share. Every photo we share comes with a memory. I want to share my memories without cheapening them. I’d love to see other people share photos online in places that disrupt the typical, addictive, social media scroll. I hope we can preserve the feeling of sitting down to watch your relative's slides from their favorite places. I can't give you the space on the floor, next to the air conditioner in Grandma's living room, but maybe something more memorable than mindless internet scrolling.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/202167540@N02/