Double rainbow interrupts urban adventure. Everyone wins, but what does it mean?
Friday, a double rainbow interrupted a photo adventure I had begun with a friend in West Baltimore, originally in search of abandoned buildings with trees growing through them and the like. This past week has had an unusual spike in violent crime in some of Baltimore's poorer neighborhoods, and watching long stretches of North Avenue come to a standstill over a trick of light in the clouds, with children and beat cops staring in wonder on the side of the road and taking pictures and shouting and laughing, was a much-needed moment of hope and joy. I understood in that moment how some people consider rainbows a promise from the divine that things are going to be okay. And I really do hope things will keep being more okay for the folks who live there because of that joyous moment that couldn't be bought or sold and the shared humanity in watching it together, just a little bit longer. I'm still feeling happier for it, myself.
Somewhat ironically, I'd struck out on that adventure mostly carrying cameras loaded with black and white film, as I've had some luck lately developing it myself and thought it would be more suitable for the adventure I'd intended. I don't mind this sort of being proven wrong.
Edit, to add commentary from the FB version: a bit that didn't make it into the original post but is relevant: one of the reasons I've really taken a shine to Instagram after initially making fun of (the way some people use) it is the sort of local camaraderie that crops up from image tagging by GPS location or keywords and the democratization of photography and the internet as web-enabled phone cameras become affordable and worth having across socioeconomic classes. And true to form, when I checked up on #charmcity or #baltimore this weekend, there were dozens of photos of the rainbow from all around the city, people who would never meet eyes on the street commenting excitedly on that shared moment of purely nature-inspired happiness. The future is weird. Sometimes it is even good.
Somewhat ironically, I'd struck out on that adventure mostly carrying cameras loaded with black and white film, as I've had some luck lately developing it myself and thought it would be more suitable for the adventure I'd intended. I don't mind this sort of being proven wrong.
Edit, to add commentary from the FB version: a bit that didn't make it into the original post but is relevant: one of the reasons I've really taken a shine to Instagram after initially making fun of (the way some people use) it is the sort of local camaraderie that crops up from image tagging by GPS location or keywords and the democratization of photography and the internet as web-enabled phone cameras become affordable and worth having across socioeconomic classes. And true to form, when I checked up on #charmcity or #baltimore this weekend, there were dozens of photos of the rainbow from all around the city, people who would never meet eyes on the street commenting excitedly on that shared moment of purely nature-inspired happiness. The future is weird. Sometimes it is even good.