The last thirteen photos were shot with a Leica Elmarit-R 28mm f:2,8. Another great lens, quite sharp, I dare say. Contravening the rule of the project, I had to wildly crop the last photo, the sunset with the ship, and yet it retains a significant amount of detail.
For those who have patience, the full story.
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Postcards
Can you remember the thrill at receiving mail, when mail was a neatly handwritten sheet of paper, sealed in an envelope and stamped. Or a postcard; that little, often mundane photo, saying by its mere existence: “some of your loved ones were here, in this very place, and thought of you”.
And it was even more thrilling to wait for some mail. From a sweetheart, from a friend or even from a penpal living anywhere in the world. You would walk to the mailbox every second hour to check if the postman had come.
Most of the time the mailbox was just plain empty. It was this scarcity to make the day when you did finally get correspondence, any correspondence, a real fest!
Those were times when writing was an exercise in synthesis, taking care of the meanings and letting go the form.
Just the thought was enough. Possibly put on a 4x5” cardboard with a picture on one side, and your heart on the other.
And waiting for the answer was the thrill.
When the answer arrived, if the answer arrived, it was better than a bunch of flowers, it was happier than the sunrise shining on your window.
But it wouldn’t fill you to the point of satiety. You wrote again, and stood on the doorstep, on the watch.
Sometimes the wait was way too long. Hour after hour, the days grew gloomy and gloomier, while nothing seemed to show up on the horizon.
And your little world seemed to collapse. Questions and more questions, and a “no entry” sign for an answer.
Secluded in your comfort zone, you felt uncomfortable, looking at the sky in search of a sign.
Even the vast fields looked like impossible promises, on the other side of a line of barbed wire.
While sunsets continued to flow, one after the other, all identical, none alike the other.
A fabulous selfie and amazing narrative to which I can relate. You painted the picture so beautifully that I now yearn for those times. You have such a wonderful way with words, do you also write books (apart from cookbooks)?
This series was fantastic, and the theme of the poem one that at least people my age certainly relate to. What a wonderful job of telling the story and evoking the feelings through your images. Hats off to the photographer and his tools!
