Tag: Black and White

Kopp’s Cycles

It was one of those weekends when I didn’t know what to write. I think it’s because I had something preying on my mind related to my work. Nothing terrible, just something I needed to decide that week that I’m not sure I’m fully prepared for. Usually, I get stressed because I already know what I need to choose, and I hope everything will go just fine, but that doesn’t stop my brain from flipping into anxiety mode. I was focusing on this one thing which meant I did not spend time thinking about a bunch of other things I needed to do (vacation planning), leading to cumulative general anxiety.

The photograph was captured during my foggy day walk around downtown Princeton. After I walked on Witherspoon Street, I circled back around to Spring Street. I was cold, the fog cleared, and I wanted to go home. I exposed a few frames outside Kopp’s Cycles, which thankfully, were the last unexposed frames on the cartridge.

Witherspoon Street

The fog and dim light seemed like a good day to use Kosmo Foto Agent Shadow.

From The Kiosk, I walked over to Witherspoon Street. Things were different on this street. There was more activity. I stood outside the Princeton Public Library on the corner of Witherspoon Street and Paul Robeson Boulevard, observing this part of the downtown come to life.

Despite the eerie surroundings, people walked confidently, their feet moving along the familiar pavement with a sure-footedness born of frequent repetition. Some walked with purpose, while others meandered slowly, perhaps taking in the strange and mysterious beauty of the fog. As I looked up Witherspoon, the buildings that lined the street disappeared into the mist.

bicycle rack outside the Princeton Public Library
Outside the Princeton Public Library · Monday 26 December 2022 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2

The bicycle rack with the jumbled bicycles looked twisted and mangled like a dead animal's entrails. The metal frame that was once straight and sturdy was now bent out of shape, contorted into grotesque angles that seemed almost unnatural. The scene was made even eerier by the dense fog.

Near the bicycle rack, a man sat, his phone in one hand while he warmed the other inside the pocket of his hoodie. The man seemed lost in another world, engrossed in whatever held his interest in his electronic brick.