I spent the better part of a year walking downtown Austin every day at lunch and I never once noticed this gap between buildings. Something about it’s neatness struck me, and the division of old and new stone, probably quarried not far from each other.
A theme begins to emerge. Like the house numbers in Mexico City, the locks aren’t something I started seeking out. They’re a small things scattered about the neighborhood, each with their own character, keeping you in, but mostly out.
Even after all the freezes, the vines are coming back with a vengeance.
Finally, 62 days in, a clichéd mirror portrait.
Thick grey clouds above the skyline this morning. Navy Bean, and the whole city, seemed to be rubbing sleep from their eyes, a little slow to get going.
Walking this early is largely devoid of conversations—most people insulate themselves from the world with headphones. I walk without them, listening for snatches of conversation.
M: "It's a spiritual pickup line."
W: "You know, they say every relationship is karmic. You have a pleasant experience with someone in line at the grocery store, that's a karmic relationship."
Tuesday is a quiet night, mostly the light wind rustling the branches, and the sounds of TVs filtering out of rarely opened doors and windows—the air outside about the same as the conditioned air indoors. There is no other word for the temperature but perfect.
From a restaurant patio, a tipsy British voice laments, "If mo town started now it would be 'whoa whoa Mr email...'"
I wonder how many people walk past this abandoned Christmas tree each day and don’t even notice that it’s there between the faux antique light post and the street lamp.
Brick arches and wood formed concrete. But it’s the birds that I didn’t notice the first time that make this image for me.
No matter where I walk, I will always find the breeze blocks. Bonus glass blocks here too.
Five miles walk with the little dog took us deeper into midday than I am normally out with a camera, which made for some excellent new-to-me shadows.
I grew up before the ubiquity of cell phones, but I also cannot think of a time where I ever needed to use a payphone. The only interaction I can recall with payphones is checking the coin return for quarters at the mall so I could play an arcade game.
Moments after snapping this, my subject apologized for walking through my shot, despite being critical to my photograph.
Sometimes all you need is a good statement jacket.
Long walk through the blue hour. It always amazes me when I can catch a star or three over downtown Austin.
Watercolor skies and sunlight on downtown sometimes look better out of focus. It has been nice to remember that not every photo has to be tack sharp to be “good”.
Sometimes the morning walk is short and all you get is a look at an old set of bleachers.
Another fog bank settled low on downtown, another morning walk to watch it burn off over the Sail.
Dense fog advisory kept me in bed later than usual. The thickest fog still hung in the air at the start. It wasn’t until the way back that the sun started burning through. The Google sail building caught the light just right.
With all the ice melt dried up and a sunny sky it is easier to survey the damage done. This plant has weathered several freezes uncovered, a mix of green and yellow, never fully recovering from the big storm in 2021. It continues growing, despite the old fronds.
I started my evening walk in the cold and grey. Yesterday’s soft crackling of ice replaced with the drips and drops of 40º. Walked a mile out, turned for home, and was greeted by a sunset, a real sunset, for the first time in days.
Self portrait in orange hat. Frozen rain overnight covered most surfaces in a thin layer of ice. Branches sagged and snapped. Despite all the hard surfaces, it’s quieter than a sleepy Sunday morning.
