A gray afternoon in early march. Cold weather. Boredom. I just had frozen pizza for lunch. Time for a walk. Lets keep it brief. I was not looking for anything special or beautiful. Just things that pop into my eye. Here we go. And be warned this was one of my more cynical days.

No Guests

Usually a restaurant would offer some seating here but it is deigned too dangerous so it is “verboten“. Emptiness is all that is left.

Good riddance

Thankfully the wise powers that be decided that some streets were no longer infested with the most dangerous virus ever(tm) so they allow us to breath naturally without face mask. Considering that most stores were closed anyway only a few people ventured through these streets in winter anyway. But who am I to question the never ending wisdom of our leaders with my small and humble logic.

Filled to the brim

This is how I feel right now. Unfortunately there is no service that takes my mental trash away. Maybe it is better to avoid trash all together by minimizing the consumption of news. The philosopher and natural scientist Avicenna once put two lambs in separate cages. One lamb could always see (but was never in danger of) a wolf. The other lamb could not see the wolf. The first lamb died within months out of stress. Fear kills or at least shortens your life. Now go and think about (or rather not) all the mask warnings, distancing signs, case numbers and other fear inducing symbols.

Coffee paraphernalia and some good news

My favorite coffee shop is open again. Outside are all the coffee paraphernalia like sugar, honey and sweetener. How disgusting! I prefer my coffee in all the colors women’s hair comes (well except red…and I like red heads…what a shame) but not sweetened. Mmh…again like women…with character and some bitterness. I got an espresso btw. It was short and bitter and sweet but also exciting.

Things the bus does not allow on board

I think it is very nice of the bus stop to provide a home for all these cardboard pieces, wood panes and the shopping cart. At least they do not need to keep social distance from each other. But then the bus no longer stops.

Enjoy a cuppa

Coffee cups ought not be thrown away on the ground. They should be positioned nicely on transformer housings, benches, and other elevated places to offer people like me new and interesting photo opportunities. Before the pandemic struck my city put a lot of effort into convincing people to use reusable cups with a nicely branded cup deposit system. Once the most dangerous virus ever(tm) hit people wanted their nice and hygienic paper cups back. Ah well…the irony.

Step right up, step right up

Steps to nowhere so step right up. Be free. Think for yourself. Stand your ground. Have principles. Live in truth. Accept uncertainty. Follow yourself. Freedom. Decisions. Responsibility. Be a human. A real one. Go on step right up to your life. You might only have this one.

Photographic Notes:

I took these shots with a Vivitar Auto Wideangle 35mm F2.8 for Minolta MD. Using it on the Fujifilm X-T3 gives it a field of view approximating 52mm. A perfect focal length for walking around the city. I chose the Kodak Tri-X 400 recipe from Fujixweekly. It is a pretty high contrast and grainy look that seems ideal for photojournalism. I like the strong blacks in these photos.