Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Communication

This week, our guest host, Biasini the horse, has chosen Communication as the topic for the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge. This was an interesting theme with many connotations; so many ways to communicate our thoughts and feelings.

Can you hear me now? Probably not. I saw this pay phone at our local gas station and, figuring it was something that would soon be a thing of the past, I took a picture for posterity. Mobile phones have almost completely replaced this old-fashioned mode of communication and a good thing too. It was a miracle if you could find one that hadn’t been vandalized and was still in working order.

The best way to communicate with the crowd, when even a voice on a loudspeaker can’t be heard, is by means of the electronic signboard seen here at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

Back in the day when there was no such thing as radio communication between ships, flags were the means of issuing orders, declaring a vessel’s country of origin and also its intentions. These flags were hoisted at the Tall Ships Festival at Navy Pier in Chicago.

Sadly, another form of communication that seems to be going the way of the dodo is the newspaper. Our household cancelled the daily newspaper many years ago in a cost-cutting purge that saw the abandonment of many such unnecessary luxuries, but I missed scanning the news from this crisply tangible source, missed filling in the ridiculously easy crosswords and mourned the loss of connection with the community. It’s just not the same, reading the ‘police blotter’ online.

Some years ago, I photographed a protest that had been prominent in our local news. I rarely take pictures of people and when I do, they are usually candid, unposed shots that don’t normally turn out that well. I don’t feel comfortable in this situation but I summoned up my courage and engaged the protesters in conversation, asking them about their cause and obtaining permission to take their pictures. I explained that I was writing a piece for my blog about the town itself and had just happened to come upon the protest by chance. Many of those present that day were quite happy to pose for pictures but many weren’t and of course, I respected their wishes, but I found it rather ironic that people who were willing to communicate their displeasure with their current working conditions by standing at the roadside, brandishing placards and screaming at passing motorists, were not willing to express their obviously deeply-held views on a more personal level. This communicated to me that they either mistrusted my motives or were afraid of possible reprisals. Fair enough.

Finally, with a nod to Anne Leueen and her horse, Biasini, here is a shot that I captured at Arlington Race Track a couple of years ago of my granddaughter, who loves horses, making contact with one of the outrider’s mounts, a communication of kindred spirits.