Tiny Cities Made of Ashes - a photo on Flickriver

In another time, when I was a different human altogether, I used to drive all night between upstate New York and Chicago listening to Radiohead’s Kid A, OK Computer, Amnesiac and Modest Mouse’s The Moon and Antarctica. It was a time I couldn’t even possibly conceive of photographing both bands as I drove all night on the thruway and across the winding curves of Cleveland hoping to not fall asleep and become part of a circle. And so, I’ve changed, the bands have changed, the cities have changed. But, did you know, just like a body turns into a new self after 7 years, so does a city? I came to Chicago 20 years ago and it’s about to completely change over for the third time (Math is fun, don’t you think, Karma Police?) Anyway, on a macro level, we’re all seeing the bulldozers and razed buildings, the rent increases, the humans being kicked to the curb like they never mattered. We all internalize this stuff like an infestation about 100x more detrimental and insidious than Coronavirus. And, on the microlevel, we can feel it too. It’s in all the elements of ourselves and the places we visited, the shows we went to, the restaurants we ate in, the people we bonded with who may not be still breathing. We’re still drinking drinking drinking Coca Coca Cola and we’re still heading down that road. We aren’t going to stop changing, a slow evolution or de-evolution until we die.

I chose October to resume this series for a reason. The main reason is this…it’s scary. Disaster Capitalism is the ghost who never stopped living and who you would never invite into your home on purpose, right? You want to avoid the devastation because it’s hard to function without welcoming all the misfits in your city into your home and calling it a day. You know you are a misfit, too. And, there’s a lot of peeling of surfaces, a lot of taking away from the original form. You know there’s a secret tension between those human made constructions and the others-the trees, the grasses, the nature that will also swallow us whole if given a chance. Just like…you know there’s a secret self who went to hundreds of protests to actively resist fascism when Trump was a more than an existential idea threatening all of human kind. It is terrifying to see all the layers. The more you look, the less able you will be to stop looking. And, it’s still happening. Just look at that abortion ban.

And so, if you see me on the street, my long red hair a chaotic tumble around my camera, please know that I am not insane as I crouch low and high on tip toe, capturing all the urban monsters inside ourselves. We may never be reconstructed because we’re not potential high end real estate. Maybe I’m crazy but, then again, what will that make the rest of this world?

Don’t forget to Refuse Fascism today! It’s never too late…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EA5b3FNI4w

**All photos, poems, rambles, etc are copyrighted**

Taken on: October 2, 2021

Tags:

urban

city

ashes

Modest Mouse

The Moon and Antarctica

music

lyrics

remnants

weird

strange

wonderful

words

monsters

misfits

Monochrome Monday

Black and white

Negro y blanco

Noir et blanc

monochrome

Macro

Canon

Chicago

America

USA

Refuse Fascism

resist « less

Sets appears in: • Tiny Cities Made of Ashes

Groups appears in: • Experimental Dream • Abstract Photos more » • Weird But Wonderful • Your Favorite Photos - Unlimited! • abstract photography • dream or reality? • Creative Photography • Flickritis: over 87,000 waiting for a vaccine. • B&W DREAMS • Macro Photography • Melancholy • Weird Photography • Abstracts • White and Black Photography • Abstractures • Abstract Art • Odd and Abstract • Strange and Lovely • THE FEELING - Photos that move people (READ RULES) • *** Flickr's Most Creative Shots *** • I Love Black and White! • "I AM TELLING YOU A STORY HERE. CAN YOU SEE IT?" • STRANGE !! • Abstract! • Noir City • Your Best Photography • Collective Dream Journal • Abstracts & marco • Macro Photography Unlimited • Macro for all • Macro! Closeup Shots! • Strange and Unusual Photos • New Abstract Vision Group • abstract arts • "Black and White Unlimited" • Abstract Photography, Art and More... • Weird But Strangely Wonderful • In Dreams • Macro Unlimited • CANON-NO LIMIT • its just a dream • |Black&White| • Abstract in Reality • Detail that makes you feel something • We All Feel Lonely • abstract/surreal/strange795 • Walk The City • Are you dreaming my memory ? • ≈ monochrome ≈ • this is how I feel today* • The instant and its history • Black and white / Noir et Blanc • your city is like • Better in Black & White • The Monochrome Mind • See.. then feel - Ve y siente - Voir alors le sentiment • Odd, Strange & Weird • Monochrome(dump it here) • Black and White Stories (from around the world) • Abstract Impressions • MONOCHROME CRAZY • Monochrome Love • Your Best Shot For Today • Strange and Unusual • flickr (unofficial) • Monochrome Mondays (and any other days ending in 'y') • Macro & Close up Photography • ...that certain feeling • dream • Macro Photography Arena • Macro Worlds. • Monochrome Magic • Macro Addicts, That is all. • My time behind the lens No 30/60 limits • Your best of the best • Photography with a Story • Black And White Shots of anything! • This is Why I Bought A Camera • Today's Flickr • The best work of the photographer's passion • Noir et Blanc...Black and White • Our Creative Minds • THE IMAGINATIVE CAMERA • Group for all users of FLICKR - No 30/60 Groups Limit • Black and White Nirvana - No 30/60 Limit • blackwhite mono NO 30/60 LIMIT • Abstract Anything • The best picture of the world • the things you see • Attrape Mon Âme (street and soul) no limits • ! Creative Composition ! • !*Only Your Best*! • The Eclectic Photographer • All great photos - No 30/60 • NO Second Life (opted out 30/60) • LOOK ! *** the Home of great Photos (no 30/60 Limit) no limits • Feel...write...share... • USA - United States (No 30/60 limit) • Black & White - Pictures (No 30/60 limit) • USA - Pictures (No 30/60 limit) • Chicago, Illinois, USA (No 30/60 limit) • ~Attention Worthy - No 30/60 Limit • No limit - No 30/60 • Opt out no limits for art work! • flickr 30/60 limit sucks • *BW Street Opt Out 30/60 Safe Group • I Love My Canon - no 30/60 • Canon - no limit • Photography at its best ... all welcome • World of Photography (No 30/60 limit) • THERE IS NO LIMIT FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC CREATION • Strangenecessity • * no limits, just quality photography! « less

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark III, f/0, 1/2000 sec, 0mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Aperture:	f/0
Exposure Time:	0.001 sec (1/2000)
Focal Length:	0mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Manual
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop 22.2 (Macintosh)
Show full info

Stats: 8,695 views / 23 comments