Early Morning: A Photo Series

When you grow up in a city of 10 million, in a country that is rapidly developing, preparing itself and its citizens to enter the global arena, you find yourself constantly seeking quietude, some time away from the fast-paced-ness of events, eventually leading you to begin to romanticize solitude.

My father had always been a storyteller. He had a penchant for adding narrative to everything mundane. As a child, when I often found myself being overwhelmed by how much was simultaneously happening all at once, around me, he would tell me to put my shoes on and then take me on a long walk around our neighborhood. These walks weren’t interventions of any sort; there were no questions asked. Instead, while we strolled through parks and past houses, he would point at the simplest of things, like perhaps the lone red rose in a neighbor’s garden, and create a little story around it. Walking with him, I would carefully observe one thing after the other; the same things that I previously didn’t care enough about to even notice, suddenly turned into objects of immense interest.

These walks would launch me into a fantastical journey and I would never want that little journey to come to an end. When we would come back home and I would tell my father how I felt a lot better, he would respond by saying, “Always remember, nothing gives one more clarity than taking a walk”. Ever since, I have lived by his words.

The generation of today does not stop and think. As technology advances, we are rapidly, if not already, endangering our sense and patience for observation. 

The art of visually stimulating one’s senses has become obsolete. McLuhan too recognized this growing ignorance towards one’s immediate environment. He says, “At the high speeds of electric communication, purely visual means of apprehending the world are no longer possible” (McLuhan 63).

For the “Something is Happening” photo project, I decided to venture out, in the wee hours of this Wednesday morning, on the streets of Appleton. With three layers of clothing and a camera hanging around my neck, I wanted to be disturbed by nothing but the icy wind, as I attempted to capture subtleties in our environment that we pass by in absolute oblivion - create my own private little narratives.

The wind was icy, the roads empty and the small businesses all shut.

To a lone wanderer, in subzero temperatures, downtown Appleton felt serene.

Up Is The Wrong Way, a photograph by Zain Ali

I would walk, pause, think and click. Different vantage points allowed for interesting narrative. I found humor trapped in nooks and corners, I found spring locked inside a gardening shop. I realized there was still so much outside to see, instead of just piles of white snow. There were fascinating compositions. 

I hope after viewing my photo series, “Early Morning”, you too decide to venture out, take your own little private walk. Not with your head down, texting away on your iPhone 5, but with your chin up, and your eyes not shut.