Neon Espresso by Chipka
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Description
Coffeehouses, like bars, draw my attention; even if I don’t enter such a place, I’ll pause and look in, and maybe make an attempt to capture the scent of coffee or beer. Back in the old days, when lit cigarettes were allowed in indoor places, I’d pause outside of a bar (or I’d pass one, on my way—quicky—elsewhere) and catch the familiar olfactory mélange of tobacco, beer, and harder-to-define human smells that were—invariably—a the nose-tickling signature of human metabolism and various smell-good applications of cologne or perfume intended to mask the ambient human aroma. Smoke is no longer allowed in indoor environments, and the ambient human aroma is only present in dance-clubs, now. Smell-good-juice in bottles is used far more liberally today than it was years ago. Smell-good-spray has made something of a comeback, and it’s over-use is a sign that it’s new to some people.
Though coffeehouses never really possessed the rich amalgam of scents as bars, they still held an equal appeal. I sat in a particular coffeehouse last Tuesday, and as I sat, I inhaled the scent of coffee and the book I’m currently reading. As is my recent habit, I’m re-reading a book. It’s been years—decades, actually—since I sifted through the pages of Frank Herbert’s Children of Dune. It marks the end of Herbert’s Dune Trilogy. The books that follow diverge sharply from the initial storyline, though the timbre of the later books(God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, andChapterhouse: Dune) depend on the events taking place in Children of Dune. It’s one of the few book-length chapters of the Dune Chronicles I’ve only read a couple of times. But like many of Frank Herbert’s works, re-readings reveal old pleasures and new surprises. And so, I sat in The Emerald City coffeehouse, sipping coffee and sniffing text. I sat with Corey, and we talked, while sipping coffee and sniffing a book.
I arose—at some point during our coffeehouse visit—to step outside and take a few photos. In looking back at where I’d been, I saw the coffeehouse: strangely empty and nicely smeared with street-born reflections and a dance of shadows from the overhead el tracks. I snapped a photograph and went back inside. Corey, who’d gone to the bathroom, returned, and we went back to talking, and fiddling with our cameras. I went back to inhaling the scent of coffee and attempting to smell the flint-and-cinnamon scent of the desert world of Arrakis. I didn’t smell a far, far future planet. Instead, I caught the scent of paper, slowly oxidizing, and it was a rich, almost intoxicating scent.
Books, coffee, friends…those three things are enough to make any random Tuesday quite an enjoyable event.
As always, thank you for viewing, reading, and commenting, and I hope you’re all having a great week.
Comments (15)
NefariousDrO
Wow, I like this photo, it's like a mix of a smoky old bar, a 1950's diner, and maybe a hint of dystopic future as well. I also am amused at your references to "sniffing a book". I worked for several years in bookstores, and used to be a frequent shopper of used books. I still love the smell of an old book, and could just sit in an old shop smelling the mixes of ink, paper and all of its myriad variations for a long time. Nice.
blinkings
MMMMMMM coffee. Nice one Chip. I can almost smell your description!
durleybeachbum
Your description takes me there to share the pleasure.
Faemike55
Fantastic photo Chip there's an air of eerieness (sp?) based on the lack of people within Your narrative brings me into the picture without being seen by others
whaleman
I always find such a sign very inviting, I guess because I was never a part of the coffee house scene though I wanted to be.
auntietk
I know exactly which table you occupied! Corey has left a unique marker of his presence. :) Those days of friends and books, cameras and coffee, are days to savor and treasure and take out later to think on and enjoy again. Thanks for sharing this one with us. I'll sit there with my latte and wait for you and Corey to come back, and we can talk about what's next! :)
wysiwig
An inviting sign and yet somehow a touch of melancholy. Together with friends or alone at a table. What is that fellow's story? This picture, aside from its technical excellence, raises questions about its inhabitants. The words of the Simon and Garfunkel song "Bleeker Street" came to mind; I saw a shadow touch and shadow's hand.
kgb224
Stunning capture my friend. God Bless.
EJD64
Very cool neon light. Great capture Chip.
flavia49
amazing work
helanker
You always find the most interesting places to photograph, Chip. This included. Your story around this, makes me feel I was there too. :)
MrsRatbag
It's the story and picture together that make your posts so unique and fascinating. I too feel I'm there, and I can't even remember how many times I've re-read the Dune series!
PREECHER
that's a really awesome photo...you don't see alot of neon signs anymore at least not around hear and usually it's at a bar... chills and thrills
CoreyBlack
wow,this is a great shot! It's always strangely fascinating to see another person's take on a place you're intimately familiar with. Kind of like seeing your old neighborhood in a movie you happened to go see. How many times have I sat at that table in the last two or three years looking OUT that window and making pictures of the street and everything going by without it ever once occurring to me to go outside and shoot IN? Funny how the obvious always seems to slap you in the face, isn't it? Anyway, I really like the layers of this shot: the subtle reflections on the glass,the "floating" handbills,the bright and intricate neon sign anchoring the center, and then the depth and strange loneliness of the interior. I also see that I didn't take my cane with me when I went to the bathroom. I obviously didn't need it for that little adventure... Anyway, this is a great shot and I like it a lot.
pat40
Looks Very Nice.