What does one do after an exhausting day on the slopes in one of the many beautiful Ski Resorts in Switzerland, with freezing temperatures, fresh powder (it was snowing all night and still during the day) and plenty of sunshine? Right, you sit in front of the computer and write your latest blog (however I cannot stop admiring the majestic panorama from my place). My last (business) trip to New York is already some weeks ago and made special through also some inches of snow. The snow in New York arrived just the first Sunday of my trip, and only in the evening. Hence, my Sunday trip was more of a rainy experience. It started (and ended) in an interesting way however, as the windows of the New Jersey Transit train were quite dirty (honestly, I wonder if they ever clean them from the outside. The trains are quite clean inside…). The dirt however created a special kind of filter, and the world looked mystical through the window. It is not always clear what the subject really is, why it is there where it is and what it is used for when the season is a different one.
Another mystery is the current politics in the US. I met a proud Trumpist, dressed up for the inauguration of his iconic leader which was about to happen the next day. He started talking to me, but fortunately not about the man with the yellow hair, but my camera. He confessed that he was always interested in photography, but had not touched a camera for many years. I commented that photography can sometimes widen your horizon and may lead to new insights… not sure he got the message…
Only during my trip back to Morristown, the snow really settled. Again, I photographed the world outside through the train window. The snow and the darkness, illuminated by the street lights, created an even more mysterious atmosphere.
Life is like a train of moods like a string of beads, and, as we pass through them, they prove to be many-colored lenses which paint the world their own hue. . . .
Ralph Waldo Emmerson (May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882), American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, and poet.
