For The Birds.

The wind is getting chillier by the day. Today I realized that I don’t have anymore Polaroid 500 film left in my camera. There is only one place in Oshawa that I know carries the stuff, so I decided to take my bike at around one o’ clock in the afternoon to go get some. I was offered a drive there, but if I really wanted to a drive down, I probably would have just taken the car myself. The location is really difficult to get to because it is on a one-way street with loads of traffic. Most so the reason for taking my bike is simply I love to go cycling and prefer riding a bicycle over driving. During the hot months in Peterborough I loved riding around the city because it is so flat. Oshawa is a different story, it’s great to bike from my location elsewhere, but getting back is trouble because the far east end of the city is on a huge hill overlooking the rest of the city. I live on that top of the hill.

I get to the part of the city that just begins to the descent down on Grandview Street. I look out down below and see Lake Ontario in the distance. Not quite the ocean as I saw back in Cape Cod, but still a marvel none the less. The cloud formations were magnificent. In a sense I wish I had the film in my camera at this moment to take a picture. It’s funny when you get caught in those moments and you find yourself saying the cliché “I wish I had my camera.”

One such moment happened in my first year in University around this time in September. I actually remember the exact date. It was the 26th day of the month. I left my residence room in Champlain College to go somewhere late in the evening. I usually brought my camera everywhere on campus as I was quite the shutter bug. As I climbed the stairs leading to the University library I looked up and saw the most beautiful sky. It was a deep blue but still very much bright outside, and the moon was full and looming over the other residence houses on the hill. I wanted to run back to my room to get my camera and run back to take the photograph. I had to go somewhere and figured by the time I get my camera and run back to the same location it would be too late. The sky would probably change. Instead I remembered the moment and just stood there on the concrete stationary gazing out into the distance to remember what I saw forever. I wonder what people thought if they saw me that day, standing still looking at a moon for minutes.

I thought I could return to this spot one year later and actually remembered the date, counted down the days until I could. However, when the day actually arrived the University began construction on the new college, so a giant crane was in the way. After the college was built, the photo could never exist physically because the new college blocked the view of the houses from that spot.

Robert Frank once said: “My photographs are not planned or composed in advance, and I do not anticipate that the onlooker will share my viewpoint. However, I feel that if my photograph leaves an image on his mind, something has been accomplished.”

Sitting on my bicycle seat looking at the sky from up high reminded me of that moment in my life. I guess this whole experience of using Polaroids and taking my camera everywhere is a return to that lifestyle I use to experience.

I rode my bike further west towards the photography store. It was smooth ride from here and I avoided as many of the main streets as I could. Gangs of kids on bikes and skateboards were all around in these small neighbourhoods. After crossing a big distance on my bike I finally arrived at Bernie’s Foto Source. I met Dan at the counter, whom I spoke to earlier on the phone.

“Hi, I called earlier about the Polaroid 500 film.”
“Sure, here it is; the last pack.”
“Are you going to be getting any more?”
“Oh why? Do you want to buy a whole bunch?”
“Well, if you keep getting them, I’ll keep buying them.”
“One sec, lemme ask.”

He asked someone in the back and confirmed that they are going to be getting more stock. Perfect I thought, and then hopped on my bike for the quest back home. Before I did I called up Jordan on my cell to see if he was around, because he is pretty close in this area. He was home and had some time to spare so I went to visit him.

His backyard has been a sort of nice hang out spot in the summer time. We love sitting in chairs around this old wooden table to light up candles, a fire in an old chemo, and to have drinks and laughs. As I sat there on the chair chatting with him and making plans to hang out tonight with the rest of the crew, my eyes caught the attention of a birdhouse in his garden. Among the tomato plants and vines on the chain link fence stood a wooden birdhouse of sky blue. Like a robin’s egg. I crept up to it as if I was stalking my prey and opened my camera.

I tried to position my view so that I didn’t capture anything in the background other than the vines, and wanted to make sure that no tomato plant leaves got in the way to destroy the focus. I took the picture. I think it turned out pretty well. His garden is pretty amazing from a photographer’s point of view. The objects really stand out and are complimented really well by the array of colours available through the various plants and flowers that surround them. Plus most of the objects are things of an old age way past my time of existence, and it’s fun to see what they have become after all these years.

Jordan had to get ready for class though, so I went on my way back home. Did not like that hill coming back, but all and all, it was nice to be back home. And, it was nice to remember something that meant a lot to me in the past. I’ll never forget that picture that never was.

music to accompany the blog: Saosin - Collapse.