Camera Data

Camera Model: Canon 10D

Lens: Canon EF 24-70 mm f/2.8L USM

Shutter Speed: 2 sec

Aperture: f/16

ISO Speed Rating: 100

The Last Page - Jarrell's Cove, WA (May, 2006)

This photograph is like finding the last page torn from a paperback, seemingly left behind on a table, in a coffee shop. You pick up the page, read the ending, and begin to consider the missing chapters. You wonder about the title, envision the cover, consider the author and puzzle over the plot. You sense unabridged loss. What was the opening sentence? Where did it all start to unravel? And without the rest of the story, the ending is impenetrable.  

In the beginning there had to have been optimism, at least for a while. The generous porch might have been built to sit outside in the evenings, undercover, sheltered from the rain, providing a protected platform to survey their kingdom and listen to song birds. But I wonder about the foundation. Was the adventure doomed from the outset? What were the character’s hopes? Were they realistic or just allusions? Somewhere along the way, there must have been a setback. Was there an antagonist, a precipitating incident, or some catastrophic natural event? At what point did the protagonists realize their dreams had become condemned?  How long did they struggle to right the sinking ship? 

When I first stumbled onto this site, much like walking into the coffee shop and seeing a yellowing, worn page lying on the table, I hesitated and looked around to see if anyone was watching. Unable to resist temptation, I cautiously stepped into the clearing to set up my tripod. What must have taken years to build, crest, and then begin its fatal decent back to the earth was recorded in an instant. 

It didn’t take much longer to begin pondering how such tragic misfortune could have run its course in such an enchanting meadow. I knew that what ever I might imagine would be no where near the truth.  The story had been lost, but at least I had the last page.

DouglasWalch@comcast.net