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City Symphonies

City Symphonies

It usually pays to talk to people. I was in Volunteer Park a while ago. I'm not exactly sure when. A few days ago, a year ago? I saw a man shooting with what I thought was some sort of modified Hasselblad. Turns out it was a Bolex film (movie) camera.

I asked him what it was, and if you read the previous sentence, you've correctly deduced that he told me. I liked him straight away. Like so many photographers, it seemed his initial reaction was wait, how'd you see me? I always think of this scene in Guardians of the Galaxy when I see photographers get noticed.

The Bolex looks beautiful. When I asked what it was, the film-maker, Serge, initially told me it was a film camera, and quickly clarified that it's a movie camera. I think it might be some sort of 16mm, but split in half? That part went over my head.

I discreetly (you know, like Drax) watched him work from a distance. He sets up and films, and it's not intrusive. I need to learn how to do that.

I wandered around for a bit and then ran into him again on my way out of the park. I asked if he shares his work anywhere. He does. You can check out his work. Be sure to read the about section, interesting life.

I sent him an email after watching some of his films. He sent a kind, thoughtful reply. He'd looked at one of my amateur videos and suggested I might be interested in looking up a genre of film called city symphonies or urban landscapes. When someone takes the time to offer a suggestion, follow up on it. The first example to pop up is Berlin, Symphony of a Great City, by Walter Ruttmann, co-written by Carl Mayer and Karl Freund. Very cool. It's set in Berlin in 1927 and is now something of a legendary pre-war time capsule. I watched it on YouTube.

Capitol Hill Seattle
Capitol Hill, Seattle, February 2021.
Capitol Hill Seattle
See You Soon. I sure hope so. Capitol Hill, Seattle, February 2021.
Capitol Hill Seattle
Capitol Hill, Seattle, February 2021. I shoot in JPG and RAW, so I have a black and white version, but it's hard to pass up those yellows and reds. In case you're wondering, the cash price is $3.39.
Capitol Hill Seattle
These squirrels made a valiant assault on a bag of food, maybe hamburger buns? They headed up the tree when I got too close. When I walked away they headed north in the park. Two of the squirrels left empty-handed. I'm not sure why they didn't grab one after this little fella got the bag open. Capitol Hill, Seattle, February 2021.
Capitol Hill Seattle
Here's that black and white version.

That's about it for tonight. I'll leave you with a wonderful article in the New York Times my mom told me about - it's their food writers talking about what they make at home when they're too pandemic-exhausted to put much thought into a meal. Early on in the pandemic I thought about emailing some of my Capitol Hill chef friends and asking them what they were making at home and what recommendations they might have for people who were spending a lot more time in small kitchens. You know, healthy, easy, versatile, and can be combined with other things throughout the week. But I think about doing a lot of things.

I lied. A couple of closing notes. I just noticed that this pair of Levi's is not going to greet the spring. And I very nearly tried to drink water through a mask.