Urban Light

Seymour, Connecticut © Steven Willard

Another photograph of a single, lone tree. But unlike the solitary trees I usually photograph, this one has grown up out of it’s proper place. It has been pruned, lopped and had the earth at its base paved over. What did it do to deserve such treatment?

When I came across this vignette I felt as though I had seen this before. Some painting by Pissarro maybe? Not a painting that looked like this, but one that captured the feeling of afternoon sun trapped and reflected in an alleyway, a tree or trees out of their natural environment.

Once again I’m left to wonder how we come by these memories, these associations. Are they real, did I once actually see such a painting, or am I imagining it? If I’m imagining it, from what source does it spring? Does it matter, or should I just be content with the feeling that I remember? I have been trying to just go with these feelings when they happen; to let the impulse work for me and not worry about the truth (or truthiness to borrow from Stephen Colbert) of the sensation.

Things used to be so much simpler when all I worried about the were technical aspects of photography; select the right lens and set the exposure. But now, after everything, I want to understand better. Isn’t that something we all want?  Ultimately, we want to understand.

Pentax K10D with kit zoom processed in Photoshop CS4.