when color returns
it may seem explosive
as though one day not there
and the next full bloom.
but this is not so.
look carefully
and you will see
it seep in
like honey sliding off the spoon
sweet and subtle
making everything good
better.

I am inspired by something every day.

Yesterday it was the wrapper from a Burger King Whopper.

The day before that it was a song, This Is The Way by Devendra Banhart. Especially the lyrics.

Well we've known we've known
We've had a choice
We chose rejoice

Today, it’s these profound words from Randi Buckley who teaches all about healthy boundaries.

Because so often we think we're being reverent or respectful, but we are tolerating bullying and abuse. Take a look. Where are you paying an unreasonable rent in your life to prove you are good for it, but it is costing you dearly? That might look like "fighting fair" but it sure as hell won't get you free.

And this book by Amanda Greene, Rejoice.

And a new book from Sandi Haber Fifield, The Certainty of Nothing, that has me considering photo-based collages, with layers of beauty and an ephemeral nature.

I took a page from Sandi’s work and tried making a collage of my photos above.

I’m one of those people who loves organization. I like to sort and cull and question. Having too much of anything makes it hard to find the things I really love. Every so often I go through the bookmarks in my folder of Favorite Photographers. Sometimes my taste has changed and I delete a link because the work doesn’t resonate with me. Sometimes the link is broken and taken over by some weird stuff or advertisements. And sometimes I spend an afternoon falling in love with photography all over again.

I came across a bookmark for the work of Jodie Hulden, and I’ll admit her name didn’t seem familiar at first. I opened the link and quickly realized why I had chosen to follow her work. Her projects, Left Behind, and Seeing Silence, are deeply moving and beautiful. Those were the images that drew me to her. But as I looked further, I came across her groupings of 4 photos, arranged like the panes of window, Quatrains. The photos were all taken during the seasons of Covid-19, in alleys, as Jodie continued her work while social distancing.

This has been the blessing of being a photographer. Despite the many restrictions, we’ve been able to carry on . . . making photographs in one way or another . . . poetic and contemplative.

I find myself doing the same.