Lens Cloth Essay no. 1

This is the first installment of the Lens Cloth Essays, a multidisciplinary collaborative work produced by several of our staff. This series is our effort to step away from the gears and glass of photography and to instead meditate on the wonder and mystery of our art and the ways that we create. We encourage you to watch this and then perhaps take a moment to consider the inner workings of your own processes.

A soft touch on rounded glass.

Warmth embracing what hasn’t before seen light,

Painting shapes on layers.

Carefully, meticulously,

a stream of light carving out details

for a fraction of a second before the door closes again.

Not only Light, but Time too.

Isolating either is implausible.

Yes,

you value the tactile

but even more you value

how you can ask this

of Light and ask that

of Time and the wait

before you know whether they listened.

You learn, with practice,

how to talk with them as if sitting down to tea.

You won’t manipulate Time or Light; it’s more of a partnership,

an understanding,

a balance that fluctuates with the conversation.

Time takes their English Breakfast with a bit of cream and Light doesn’t care much either way.

Written by Mary Thomas; Video and editing by Molly Strohl; Read by Sophia Diaz; With Courtney Schmidt; Music by Podington Bear.