The Here and Now

Barrow is an interesting place. It is a place of isolation, snow, and high shipping prices.
A gallon of milk can cost over 8 dollars, and that’s only when they have it in stock. Sometimes we have no mold-less bread or fresh veggies.

Sometimes we have no gasoline.

Yesterday I was in the high school. Scouring the nooks and crannies for lights. (I have been roped into taking pictures at the homecoming dance and am in need of a few extra front lighting fixtures.)

One of these nooks contained something that made me leap for joy. And want to weep.

There was a dark room. A beautiful fully stocked dark room.
With multiple enlargers, several wash basins, and cabinets.
Cabinets full of shiny happy things.
There were a plethora of SLR cameras, piles of film, filters aplenty, and chemicals for every type of artsy need.

There was little in the name of photography could not be done in that hidden room.

I giggled and frolicked, rummaging through this treasure chest of goodies, thoughts of projects and pictures running through my mind. The things I could do with that equipment!

Then realization struck.

There was a fine layer of dust coating just about everything. I left streaky fingerprints on everything I touched. This place hasn’t been used in years.

The photography classes offered by the school were closed a few years ago, the move away from art had taken yet another causality. Instead of cleaning out the room or even boxing up and stowing away every supply, they simply locked the door.

A town with no connecting roads has a room of locked potential.

Maybe I should start a Photography club…