sunset – JL Summa

Time Will Tell

2023-02-122023-02-12meme, photographyLeave a Comment

Sundial memes (continued)

2021-01-282021-01-29meme, photographyLeave a Comment

Today I revisit the wisdom of sundial mottos. (See previous: Sundial memes) The process of linking mottos with images is satisfying, so I made a few more. The words stay with me. In particular, the Latin Mox nox, translated to English as Night, shortly or Soon comes night, is my favorite.

This axiom seems ominous, but I have come to see it as a practical exhortation. Life is fragile. What is there to do but revel in the here and now? It is all that we have. Tempus fugit.

The above image is what you get when you run a wood mill over a pile of ashes. That’s all there is. Remembrance of mortality helps me find a place of acceptance and peace.

Sunlight slowly fading over the ocean gives pronounced finality to the day. But not all sundial mottos refer to the abyss; some offer a note of vitality. This is a reminder that we are always moving: Vita in motu.

Requiesce in pace, P.S. 1924-2021

Sundial memes

2020-12-302021-01-29meme, photographyLeave a Comment

Death and mortality are strong themes in the human experience these days. As anyone does, I struggle with fear of illness, and how to even wrap my mind around our worsening situation in this global pandemic. Seeking humor and creative distraction can help to avoid becoming overwhelmed. I think about classic sundial mottos, their clever messages etched in stone, carved reminders of our inevitable end. I enjoy their humor and honesty.

My use of Impact typeface is a nod to internet memes. Memes are banal and relatable, and so are mottos about human mortality. Fusing the sometimes frivolous nature of the internet meme with the seriousness of our own annihilation is something that amuses me. It also gives me space to work with odd photos of horizons and reflections.

Soon comes night

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Make haste, but slowly

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It’s later than you think

2020-12-302020-12-30meme, photographyLeave a Comment

From afar

2020-11-302022-01-10photographyLeave a Comment

I once wintered near Cape Kiwanda, on the Oregon coast. On daily walks, I observed subtle changes in the mutable sandstone, and admired the view of its stalwart basalt protector. I watched as storm surges roiled the ocean into thick froth, and I stood by as massive waves pummeled the prominence, crumbling land into sea. I’ve never visited anywhere quite like it on this planet. It is a timeless place, a collision of wind and earth and sea.

Between the bouts of nature’s violence, there were moments of stillness. These photos are from those days.