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Passers-by in the Rain

The Blue Umbrella

How sweet it is, when it is stormy and rain inundates the city, to witness from a sheltered spot, safe from wind and water, the comings and goings of those who are outdoors.

The difference between rain-drenched “landscapes” and “scenes” is that of ritual silence and sonorous pantomime; just as between a city magnified by libations, moved by the elements, and a place where mysterious forces perturb its inhabitants, creating a worried choreography, dispersing them along sidewalks or upon striped crosswalks.

In these photos, it is often pouring rain.  It is raining on every umbrella in the city.  I could say, as in Apollinaire’s poem: “it is raining you as well, marvelous encounters of my life”.  But that would be too pretty, too prettified, or too simple.  I prefer to write, in a more confused way: it is raining you, sparks of time, scattered snapshots, emotions springing from the beating heart of life.