Rana Banerjee Photography Blog

Ginger in a hoodie, with Joe, Tai, Drew, Phoenix, Mark, and Kirk walking off into the distance, the day after New Years, in Delaware. Very pretty, and very empty.

I spent the entire morning hiking near the city with Shanti-dog. Atop many of the hills that grace the park, one gets beautful glances of the city. Today, however, the skyline seemed to be floating, above the first wisps of gray octopus arm clouds slithering into the city from the sea. By the time I got back into Cambridge, the temperature had dropped about forty degrees, and there was thick fog over the river.

I love taking pictures in the fog, I like the way it hides, obscures, and depersonalizes objects. I love the low contrast of a foggy scene. So, after crossing the Mass Ave bridge, I found a place to park, grabbed the dog, walked on the bridge and started to shoot.

The winds were so strong they would almost knock over the small dinghy-type sailboats. To keep from flipping, the sailors would get up and shift their weight counter the direction the wind was pushing the sail. It does seem to work: there weren’t any accidents while I was watching.

At the end of one of the prettiest, most picturesque stretchs of pure white sand you can imagine, lies an decrepit, rusting M4 Sherman Tank, the primary tank used by the United States to win WWII. I would imagine that the US has abandoned such tanks on beaches the world over. In this case, the island of Culebra was used by the US Navy to practice their bombing, and I assume the tank was placed to give pilots something to aim at, much the same way that the little fly is painted into a urinal to give men something to aim at.  The bombing was halted in the 70′s, but apparently the Navy didn’t bother cleaning up after themselves. It’s a good place to sit and wonder about the use, and misuse of American military might around the world.

When I am stressed, it helps me to look at a picture of  a calming place that I’ve taken: it reminds me that I was once there, in that wonderful place of calm, and grace willing, I’ll be back someplace like it sometime soon. The picture above is of Culebra, from my most recent travels.

Today, this picture has helped me not think so much about CSS, HTML and how little I know of either. Powerful tools in the right hands, dim cudgels in mine. But I do have a website with (part) of my portfolio up and this blog, and I think I am actually pleased with the way it looks.