Alan Ilagan

You may have noticed that recent posts have been void of photographs. This is, quite simply, due to the fact that I don’t yet know how to post photos in this new format. Rather than being bitter about my ignorance, or searching out the way to do it (I’m sure it’s an easy-enough process that is right in front of my face) I’ve used these last few posts as a way to return to writing. (Granted, it’s been a rather rough return, but finding your footing for anything seems to take more and more time as the years pass.)

For instance, words can come in handy when it’s impossible to photograph a rainy November night, when long rows of water droplets line the cherry tree in the backyard, and a fine mist that could signal either Fall or Spring seeps out of the air. The rain has softened the edges of everything, so the world looks like a work of watercolor – muted, gray, and everything running together. It’s hard to know where the surface of something begins and another ends. I could never capture that on film – I’m not nearly good enough – but give me a chance to make a sentence and I can get a little closer.

I’ve missed conjuring images with words. My last two projects were all about the visual, as is my next one. When given a choice, most people would rather look at a picture than read a paragraph. Of course, when most people want something, I tend to go in the opposite direction, so the horizon is filled with letters and stories and a magnificently open space for you to fill with your imagination.

(For the visually inclined, no need to worry – there will always be room for photographs here – once I figure out how to post them.)