Ghost Riders by Chipka
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Description
On the night before…
…there were clouds and the promise of rain. The rain had not yet arrived. The air was cool and humid. At a strange, blue hour—twilight, or its urban cousin—I wandered with Corey through the heart of Lakeview/BoysTown. I’d promised to avoid the area for a while, as the dystopian, totalitarian vibe of the neighborhood threatened to reach extreme Orwellian proportions. I wandered, though not grudgingly, wary of the Fascist-Fashion Collective. Its constituents were out in force: easy to distinguish. Homogenized. Buffed. Waxed and hair-gelled into place. They wore the same shorts. They wore the same sandals. They listened to the same song and laughed at the same joke. They were…synchronized.
On the night before…
…Mako emerged from a bus, smiling, recognizing me. Mako, from Tokyo, has lived in Chicago for a while. I met him, long, long ago and we painted together, we enjoyed time with mutual friends, all of whom spoke with soft, Russian accents. We became friends and ate tangerines. I appeared in one of Mako’s student films. He is not a clone. He is no longer a student. He is at work on a documentary concerning the only cemetery in the region to allow for Japanese burial during the Second World War. He still laughs a lot and spins on his toes, flinging himself, skyward like a ballet-dancer’s ambition. He plays the piano.
On the night before…
…I walked with Corey, surprised by Mako’s smiling appearance. Mako walked with us and talked. He laughed a lot, which is common. He spoke of his love of Chicago and his disdain for New York. In his opinion—considered and objective—New York bears too many similarities to Tokyo. He is from Tokyo. He does not need to see it in English.
On the night before…
Corey, Mako, and I walked together, laughing and listening to the chatter and laughter around us. We looked for humans in the mass of clones. We found humans. Many humans, and for this I was happy. Some of them smiled. One of them liked Corey’s shirt and said so. Humans…they are odd creatures, but worthy of the affections they earn. Corey and Mako and I discovered Dayton: a street we mistook for an alley. We photographed each other there: I pointed for the camera and pretended to talk. Mako stood in light and in shadows and tried not to look at the lens. Corey stood in profile, as a vent blew his hair. He felt—he said—like a shampoo commercial.
On the night before…
Corey and I parted company with Mako, with promises to hang out later. We returned to Corey’s apartment with cameras full of photos. We rode the Brown Line train from Belmont to Kimball and I photographed ghosts reflected in public transportation glass. They were intriguing ghosts; engaged in ghostly things. One of them wore a red hat.
On the night after…
…the parade was over.
As always, thank you for viewing, reading and commenting, and I hope you’re all having a great week.
Comments (23)
dreampaint
very nice effect, good pic.
helanker
What a marvellous capture here. I love it with all its different reflections from near to far. Looks like little people from another dimention are sitting on a bench enjoying life. Like you can see severel layers of worlds at the place :) And I certainly loved your cosy narrative too.
durleybeachbum
A clever piece of writing....very ..satisfying. The image is excellent, and perfect for the prose.
RodS
A fascinating photo - all these 'ghosts' completely absorbed by tiny LCD screens.... Love the photo, but what makes it complete is the writing that accompanies the image. Together, a masterful piece of work, my friend!
jac204
Nice capture of the reflection. Of course your title reminded me of Vaughn Monroe's "Ghost Riders in the Sky".
blinkings
Do you ever feel like telling these people to stop looking at their 'devices' and LOOK OUT THE WINDOW!!!!! It's staggering the amount of people I know who's children won't go for a drive in the country without a DVD player in the car for something to watch!
treasureprints
Glad you had a great time with your friends. I also like all the different layers in this photo.:)
Feliciti
like the reflections ,many people without a look to the next ,great capture !
kgb224
Stunning capture my friend. God Bless.
flavia49
fabulous idea and title!! superb prose!
jocko500
very wonderful work
sandra46
really amusing and intriguing shot, i can't remember the movie but i liked it a lot (was it Ghost?)
mgtcs
I'm a huge fan o Neil Gaiman and this picture reminds me of what one of his characters - Delirium of the Endless - who says that she likes the "places that are not proper places" or " the in-betweens". The image captured portrays EXACTLY that feeling. Love the way you were able to position yourself just so that your own reflexion wouldn't show.
myrrhluz
I got distracted by Monica's comment and went off on an Internet ramble for a bit. Excellent image! I love all the layers. The couple sitting look like visitors from another place who are viewing this world from a window in another. Like humans watching an ant farm. I like the sharpness of the line of the platform and the way sits on one man's lap and disects another. Very interesting read. I like the way it travels lazily along. Like a river past sights, sounds, and memories. It's always a pleasure to view and read your work.
auntietk
Love the image on its own, love the narrative on its own, and they taste great together! Something I'll most likely remember for a long time: In his opinion — considered and objective — New York bears too many similarities to Tokyo. He is from Tokyo. He does not need to see it in English.
beachzz
in the sky. that was the first thing i thought of when i saw the title. now that song will sing itself to me all night! cool pic, cool words, just so much coolness i'm gonna quit while i'm ahead and just say how much i like everything about this!!
praep
Cool shot - I remember the song "Ghostriders" now.
bobrgallegos
Awesome photo and narrative!!
whaleman
'Ghost Riders' couldn't be a better name for this shot. They really appear and disappear quickly and at random, or if not at random, at some interesting mathematical progression. The ethereal image from a reflection fits perfectly. So many reflections are only partial. Where does the rest of the reflection go? Nice that the fellow took the time to comment on Corey's shirt. Too few people bother to compliment others these days it seems. I just spent three 8-hour days at the end of a motel parking lot trying to photograph vintage aircraft appearing with no discernable schedule. While there I noticed a young girl, Eastern European I think, possibly Russian, very pretty, working cleaning rooms I think, taking many smoke breaks, having a very bad smoker's cough. She had bleach blond hair with two streaks of pink in the back. I couldn't get her to acknowledge me, she just walked by looking away. I guess I do look scary to some people, I know that. But all I wanted to do was tell her I liked her hair.
fallen21
Awesome shot.
MrsRatbag
Your ramblings are so compelling, Chip. The image is titled perfectly, and complements your meandering tale; it all fits!
makron
Great capture and reflections. Well done
Sepiasiren
Your urban captures are transfixing--there is magic quality that mixes with the earthy realism; in other words, "Ghosts" is yet another Chipka masterpiece...