Anywhere
When naming images I more often than not play a quick game of word association, I pull up a photo with a blank mind and the first words that come to me become the title. Sometimes it manages to be clever, other times mundane or downright boring and nonsensical. At some point along the way I discovered that this quick spur of the moment naming method helped guide me to discover patterns hiding inside my photographs. I would see images I wanted to share and the first words to pop in my head were identical to words I had previously affiliated with other images. Common threads started to form in my shooting and I realized that I was slowly building various bodies of work based on these loose, subliminal ideas.
One of my more common tropes became, “Any Other Day,” which I have attached to a number of images through the years. Often images playing into the idea of a common scene that is often overlooked or forgotten. An exhausted, usually over embellished idea for many photographers but one that I have repeatedly come back to because it always interested me.
I took the image above a few days ago in Durham, NC while getting some coffee, probably the only image I took that day if I’m remembering right. I discovered it after importing recent photos and felt it would make for a great wallpaper. It seemed to hold a familiarity with with a hint of a story and a just enough kindling for daydreaming. When I opened up the file and cropped it down the save dialogue sat there, staring me in the face, as it always does. A blank, almost hopeless stare on its face, waiting for me to sort out a name for my new post before I could move on. So then, as always, the first word that came to mind, Anywhere, and here we are, collectively reading, everywhere and anywhere, sharing this one sunny corner of a coffee shop together yet apart. Seemed fitting to me. Enjoy!
