CONTEMPLATING THE FLICKER

By MICHAEL PERKINS

And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!—William Shakespeare, Macbeth

I AM NOT THE TYPE TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO TRAIN THE MICROSCOPE on the details of my private life. In my view, there are some things to be shared, and some things to be held in reserve. I know that, in the age of full viral disclosure, such a sentiment is counter-intuitive, maybe even quaint. Can’t help it. I go through a lot of things as a human, and some of them are simply not for public consumption.

All of which is to say that, as I write this, I am sailing through some tricky emotional waters. Neither the cause nor the cure is the point, really, so, again, most of what I’m feeling will be of an inner-dialogue nature only. It’s enough to say that certain mileposts make you more mindful of the fleeting quality of existence, especially as the years advance. And for me, as a photographer, I also wonder if I’ve made anything of lasting value, or at least narrative clarity, as I contemplate the many clicks I’ve accumulated over a lifetime.

That sends me rifling through past work, looking for something that looks how I’m feeling. Sometimes it’s an easy search; other times it’s a slog. What you see here matches my sentiments of the moment, although, when shot, it was merely my way to salute what, for me, was a particularly poignant work of art. Somehow, right now, today, this moment, it’s hitting me in a distinctly different way. Photographs can do that. You snap off a frame for one purpose and find that, over time, the damned thing has grown a whole separate set of arms and legs beyond anything you could envision at the moment of its creation. Some might call that art, although, to me, it’s more like alchemy. Magic.

Anyway, here’s hoping that your most powerful inner feelings occasionally find themselves conducting through your finger to a shutter button, and, from there, to something more lasting. As long as we continue, so does the search.