A Photo A Day Keeps the Doctor Away

I'll give credit where credit is due. (As if anyone reading this really thought I was responsible for this photo...) Mr. Sartorialist changed pace and provided me with this gem of a photo the other day. It's hard to pinpoint what I like most about it--most likely because I've got no knack whatsoever for photo composition, technique, blah, blah.

One thing I like about it is the fact that the subject seems to be an underground Chinese food restaurant. I'm never one to turn down some good Chow Mein. Never.

Secondly, I love the fire escapes. While I have long-since said that my place is on the porch of a rambling ranch house, I think I could do weekends in a high-rise full of these quick exits. Industrialism has never really been my thing but I love the hardware in this shot.

Another thought I had while looking at this picture was how interesting it is that I will never see this photo in color. I will never know what color the neon lights of the Chow Mein sign are, and I will never know just what hue the building is either. I won't know if the fire escapes are a freshly painted black or if they've been overtaken by rust. But to be completely honest, I am glad of it.

The people that meet us today, or the people that will meet us tomorrow--they will never know whether or not we are better in color or black and white. I wandered around the mall the other day without a stitch of make-up on, was feeling more than woozy, and figured that I looked about as good as I felt (miserable). Every time I glanced in a mirror I was a little astonished that I didn't mind leaving the house in that fashion but had to laugh because I knew I was going to do it again. And again. And probably again. But here's the thing: no one I encountered that day knew if that was the best or worst version of me, the black and white, sepia, or Pantone color version of me. The thought of flying so incognito is pretty cool.

I digress.

Back to the photo. The last thing that I like most about this photo is the fact that it makes me want to be there. And not just in whatever metropolitan side street offering a popular noodle dish that is featured in the picture. It makes me want to be involved in my surroundings, to see things one time and decide that that is the only version I will ever know, to catch the significance in an illuminated neon sign, perhaps all while eating Chinese takeout.