Graffiti

graffito, n.
Forms: Pl. graffiti

A drawing or writing scratched on a wall or other surface; a scribbling on an ancient wall, as those at Pompeii and Rome. Also, words or images marked (illegally) in a public places, esp. using aerosol paint. [OED]

 

 

   

An Alley in Black and White

It's been too long since I've photographed this city, so I decided to do a photo essay this week. Well, that's what I intended to do. But photo essay turned into photo poem. I walked down a single alley, shooting with a single lens (50mm, f1.8), processed the images in a single tone (black and white), and gave each one a single word.

aligning

crumbling

monuments

directing

patchwork

prayers

threading

thoughts

opening

up

perspectives

combine

aligning crumbling monuments

directing patchwork prayers

threading thoughts.

opening up, 

perspectives combine.

Snowman with a Message

MAURY SAYS YOU 'R' NOT THE FATHER

I ran into this fellow the other day, and, noting the puddle beside him, wanted to capture his message before he reached a watery fate. Not that I know much about what his message is - I don't know Maury, nor do I have any idea who "you" might be. But I love things like this because they make me want to know. And, perhaps even more than that, they make me want to invent a story by way of explanation. I guess I approach the city that way sometimes. Make up stories to render the mundane, well, more.

But this snowman is far from mundane. What kind of story do YOU think he has to tell?

Hope Springs Eternal...

... more eternal than spring, at least. 

Edmonton flowers always bloom too soon.

After a Couple Clouded Days

... the evening light shines through. I was out for a walk this evening, and managed to lose my grudge against the snow, and fall in love with the city all over again. Am I a fickle lover? Yes. But at least I keep on coming back.

Tunnel Vision

It's been a while since I've posted a photograph, so I thought I'd share this image. It's one of the ones I took when creating a map of the highlevel bridge. This tunnel-like view is one of the reasons I love walking across the Highlevel - stick your head into the traffic flow, and you feel enclosed. But lean out over the river, and you could be flying, there's so much open space.

Rust

Inspired by Jamin's comment, and by some recent apocalyptic readings of cities, a photographic study of rust in Edmonton.



apocalypse, n. 
a disaster resulting in drastic, irreversible damage to human society or the environment, esp. on a global scale; a cataclysm. [oed.com]

Rust may not result in drastic, irreversible damage on a global scale, but it does irreversibly change the localized area that it inhabits. And, as seen in these images, the transformation can be quite drastic. So, let's look at rust as a sort of micro-apocalypse on the metallic face of our city.

Found in a back alley in Belgravia - only the beginning for this rusting nail.

Parked on a street just south of Whyte - irreversible damage.

Seen while crossing the Highlevel bridge - paint can protect a surface from rust's apocalypse, but only for so long.











Another back alley discovery - a rolled up chain-link fence, now so rusted, it may never be unrolled again.

High: a bridge-level map of edmonton (revised)

I posted the previous version of this map in installments, but decided to try a different technique for web display this time around. In paper copy, the map panels are attached in one long line, like the span of a bridge, and fold out accordion-style.


click photo to enlarge (you will be taken to a separate photo gallery with the full-size images)

Locate the Site

"To find a city, make a chance encounter." - Alice Major, from Contemplating the City

This image was taken from the air, leaving Edmonton. A chance encounter between sun, sky, clouds, and the land below. A chance encounter between me, and this photograph. Perhaps, to find a city, we must sometimes leave.

High: a bridge-level map of edmonton (installment 8)

High: a bridge-level map of edmonton (installment 7)

High: a bridge-level map of edmonton (installment 6)

High: a bridge-level map of edmonton (installment 5)

High: a bridge-level map of edmonton (installment 4)

High: a bridge-level map of edmonton (installment 3)

High: a bridge-level map of edmonton (installment 2)

High: a bridge-level map of edmonton

For our creative cartography assignment, I created a map of the highlevel bridge. It's an old-school paper map, but I've decided to post the panels in installments here, on this blog. So, here's the first two:

Autumn in Edmonton

In her comment on my last post, Bevin mentioned the winter/summer dichotomy that often defines Edmonton, and another season, fall, which is often overlooked as a result. So, here you are Bevin, and other Edmontonians - taken October 2, 2010, in the height of autumn colour.

As Seen from the Highlevel Bridge

Out of focus, blurry, over-exposed, then over-corrected, a photographic accident. But it also kind of looks like an impressionist painting of our city, of something that no impressionist ever bothered to paint.

Limits

I took this photograph about a month ago, as our plane took off from the Edmonton International Airport. I thought I'd post this and talk about what Edmonton looks like from above, in the view that we usually get in maps, but then I realized that this isn't the Edmonton that we tend to look at maps of - in fact, I'm not even sure if this is Edmonton at all. 

Where do we draw the boundaries of our city? Does the land that we see in leaving a place, being linked to that place by our own association, become a part of it? 

Where are / what are our city limits?