Field Note 1 — Daybreak, a Thousand Miles from Nowhere
Fragments from the edge of the ordinary
The Airbnb was a few miles from Hill Air Force Base, north of Salt Lake City — a small room with thin walls and a copy of The Book of Mormon on the nightstand.
I set out, uncertain of a direction or destination.
This is no road trip.
I’m not telling a story.
I’m trying to figure things out — what’s going on inside of me and around me.
Moving along the same worn paths as everyone else, I stumbled upon the horses a couple of hours after first light.
There’s always a moment like that: uncertainty followed by a small decision.
The shift isn’t grand.
It’s a turn of light, a change in air, a horse moving behind a fence.
The photograph becomes a reply — a quiet nod that something was seen.
snafu, I sometimes think, is about listening for that faint reply.
The camera as tuning fork.
Each photograph a short vibration of recognition,
a way of asking if the world is still there.
— Theo Anderson