In the Southern US we colloquially say ‘haven’t seen you in a month of Sundays’ when we meet someone after a long parting. I can confidently say I have lived a month ofMondays. I confided in a friend that I just couldn’t get out of the funk. I usually come up with a handful of decent ideas for the photo of the month. For August I can’t even. I can’t even use the whole roll. I can’t even think of anything worth photographing. I can’t even bring myself to load the film. What in the hell is wrong with me? I realize now that the thing in the distance, the thing far away is the smile. I’ve spent months holed up in my home. When I do go out, it’s masks everywhere. I’ve read that you can see somebody smile in a mask by the look in their eyes. Sure, but if smiles were just eyes, why are they drawn as mouths ? Amidst all the uncertainty, living without certain liberties, missing out on my favorite haunts due to day 165 of “Two Weeks to Flatten the Curve” I have not seen people smile in public. The world in generall sucks right now and we need smiles. Right now they’re hidden; elusive. However, if we pause and look closely, hidden in the midst of the madness, the psyche overwhelmed with latest news, social media doom-scrolling, and the open-air masked venues, there are smiles. We just have to know where to look.
This sign is hung whimsically by some of our more eccentric and lighthearted neighbors. They make me smile because this kinda stuff annoys the hell out of folks in my HOA.
Frugal Film Project – The Zine!
The Frugal Film Project: one camera, one film, one year. Follow 13 photographers around the globe who complete this project…
The Frugal Film Project 
Sort of blurry and unfocused, perhaps?