In my coloring of the Galapagos cells, I like to use photographs of various textures as overlay. I was running short on original texture maps, and I needed to take a few more shots. So, last Sunday, when I had finished LeValley’s leads and Wilson had started in on bass for those tracks, I went on a mission to collect textures around the Hummingbird House. I spent about half an hour wandering around the complex, finding interesting surfaces and photographing them.
Arizona, right?
Then I wandered a bit farther into the desert. I was photographing a red, dust-ridden wooden panel when a breeze pushed the old rusty metal chains of the kiln slightly north. They whined and bayed in the hot Arizona air. The kiln. I’ve always felt something ominous about that part of the complex. Something, not quite right. But I was sure I’d find some interesting textures over there, so I pressed in. Junk everywhere. Concrete blocks, curved, riveted surfaces. Nothing particularly photogenic. The wind was really picking up and the chains started to ring louder. A plywood panel. Grotesque, mangled, perfect. It was tucked behind some heavy bricks, so I’d have to lean in for the shot. Off balance, I began to feel a sharp pain in my foot. A cholla spine had begun to draw blood, easily penetrating my moccasin and the flesh beneath. But I hadn’t leaned in far enough yet, and I dared not speak in that wretched place. I bit my lip, leaned in further, feeling the spine delve further into my skin. I got the shot, and a second, for insurance.
As I began to extract the cactus pad I felt a presence. “It’s nothing,” I thought, as I tossed the cut of cactus into a nearby bin. Then my heart leapt as a pigeon scurried away from my face wildly. She had been three inches from me the whole time, blended perfectly with her surroundings. My eye was drawn to her ceramic bowl. An egg cracks open, and her child is born, as I stand speechless. I ran back to the red building. I think that was the last shot.
There will be some desert in the jungles of Galapagos.
xoxo (CW) Alex
Posted Monday, Apr 22nd 2013 @ 9:05