It was almost the end of summer and autumn seemed to be in two minds about showing up. Although the nights started to get chilly the sunsets lingered, too, leaving an unmistakable glow in the front porch. I took this photo at my friend’s house when I visited Seattle. I stayed there for just two days but the glorious views were enough to tease me for a lifetime.
Sometimes you need to go up above to realise how minute you are in the grand scheme of things. And a long flight journey is the best place and time to contemplate your place in the world with a view that complements the thoughts. I looked through the window on my flight to San Francisco, and what I saw sprawled below amazed me to silence. There lay the city—or what led to the city—of San Francisco. It was just winding sand paths and shore-kissing seabeds, but the lower we flew, the bigger it got. It’s incredible to think how putting distance between two things puts so much perspective in place. We often think great of ourselves, but from afar we’re nothing more than a speck of futility.
We’re not all fascinated by the same thing. What interests me could be mundane and unworthy of a second look to someone else. This was only too common while I was in California. It was my first time in the US—a first world country—and I was gawking at everything I saw. Sure, I had seen fancy buildings before, but it still seemed magnificent to me that the city of San Francisco housed such constructions that its residents looked at every day without seeing it. Walking down the streets that day, I saw countless jaw-dropping sights that were just pedestrian to the locals.
Apart from being a natural frame of reference, windows open up a world of photographic opportunities. Though I love framing my photos with windows, most of the time the difference in lighting confuses me. I took this particular picture from a train in Portland. We were over the N Steel Bridge travelling from the North East of the city to the North West. It was a beautiful morning and the rain had just paused long enough for the sun to test the waters. I couldn’t help but click.
When I think of layers, I think cold afternoons, coffee, and cookies. Layers always revolve around comfort and food. And no one combines them better than the Americans.
The Chaos Within 