dj.tigersprout's photoblog
Twilight at the Edge of Town, Anaktuvuk, Alaska
Posted by dj.tigersprout (New York City, United States) on 1 August 2008 in Lifestyle & Culture.
there is something quite divine about being extremely cold. everything seems clean, fresh, pure, new. and thoughts are somehow different too -- less random, more pointed, and more body-specific. mental thoughts often become physically attached to the body's feelings -- which come quickly and then vanish, as if literally sweeping in from the body's receptor neurons, only to be recorded and then quickly replaced by other visceral feelings or statements. the mind is certainly able to think on its own, free and above these physical notions, but everything needs to be kept fairly simple... everything felt like it went 'back to basics'.
i remember experiencing such thought-feelings as i wandered the cold expanse through town. my fingers would suddenly speak to me as if singing... and pulses of icy heat would radiate up my arms to the brain. then my feet might chime in, drowning out the hands -- the frozen toes bellowing loudest with each crunch of my snowboots on the ice. my lungs might wail slightly next -- constricting a bit more with each icy inhale -- the exhale momentarily waking up numb receptors in my nose, and lips. then it would start all over again. it was some sort of autonomous bodily symphony, kept in perfect time by the natural metronome of my chattering teeth.
as i grew colder though, the autonomy of the orchestra began to lose its composure, simultaneously firing off messages to my brain that would be received in random, unkempt order -- the notes inharmonious and off key. lungs constricted with cold, my breathing would slow and my arms would begin to shake -- the blood in my veins and arteries now sluggish and cool. this shaking would compete with the now frantic chattering of my teeth. my eyes would begin to blink, trying to replace the cold dry glands with any sort of remaining moisture.
as the body song broke down into further chaos, i would start thinking only of warmth: hot tea, hot cocoa, a hot shower, a big heater... and sometimes this would bring on a gentle full body spasm -- as if to disseminate heat from the warm internal core to the much colder extremities. this was an unmistakeable curtain call should i have been distracted with experiencing or photographing the landscape. at that point everything superfluous stopped -- philosophical ideas, thoughts of possible future compositions & photogenic opportunities. the body was signaling that it was time get back, and it had to be done quickly before i began to lose essential motor skills.
here is a shot from the northern edge of town looking south along Main Street. somewhere along the way, the crunching of my boots set a husky to barking, and it was this sole and lonely barking, the only other sound in this vast and cold wilderness, that kept me company for this 20 minute excursion. at this distant edge of town the repetitious bark permeated the icy air quite clearly, unconsciously keeping me aware of myself and my bearings. as i hurried back the way i had come, thinking mostly of the incredible sensation of warmth, it occurred to me for a split second, that even here, far from home, in a distant and foreign land caught within the icy grip of a deep, frozen twilight, i wasn't completely vulnerable and alone... i had an audience of one.
all work protected by Creative Commons
Canon EOS REBEL XT
1/200 second
F/9.0
ISO 1600
18 mm