Life at 201 km/h
My parents live in Grimsby.
This was a journey home. One of many train journeys I have taken in my life. This time I carried news.
My parents health is failing. My dedicated sister lives with them. They are still able, and happy, don’t get me wrong. But as I live over 17000km away, I don’t get to make the trip very often. Each time, we all wonder if it will be the last.
This time I had to break the news that my marriage of over 30 years was over. This time a 52 year old man, their baby boy, was going to break down and cry in front of his parents.
Life moves on.
Travelling at over 200kmh, life passes you in an instant. You stare out the window but fail to capture what you have just seen. A fleeting glimpse. An inkling. Things in the distance are often too far away to comprehend. Those up close to the train are gone before you register their existence.
Occasionally you pass by a life, so quickly, of someone that may have been born, schooled, worked, and retired in the same town, same house. And yet, you experience but a notion of their time. Leaving you ruminating. Pondering.
The taking of these photos illustrated what I felt. I took them randomly, not composing what I was seeing as it flashed by so quickly. The photographs reflect my experience. I never looked to see what was captured, so seeing them again was like reliving the journey. They are taken, at speed, through the dirty windows, with very little processing. They are what I saw.
BIO
Award winning photographer Des Harris has been in the commercial photographic industry for over 35 years. During that time he has worked in press, public relations, and corporate photography in Ireland, Australia, and France. In Australia he runs the highly successful photographic agency, The Picture Desk, focussing on architecture, real estate and corporate photography. He is a member of the Federation of European Photographers, the Australian Institute of Professional Photographers, incorporating the Australian Commercial and Media Photographers where he was formerly a board member. He is also an accredited member of the International Federation of Journalists and the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance. He is currently the in-house photographer for MB Creative Studios in Sydney’s Upper North Shore. Apart from a recent 3 year stint in Paris, he has been residing in Avalon on Sydney’s Northern beaches since 2000.
My parents live in Grimsby.
This was a journey home. One of many train journeys I have taken in my life. This time I carried news.
My parents health is failing. My dedicated sister lives with them. They are still able, and happy, don’t get me wrong. But as I live over 17000km away, I don’t get to make the trip very often. Each time, we all wonder if it will be the last.
This time I had to break the news that my marriage of over 30 years was over. This time a 52 year old man, their baby boy, was going to break down and cry in front of his parents.
Life moves on.
Travelling at over 200kmh, life passes you in an instant. You stare out the window but fail to capture what you have just seen. A fleeting glimpse. An inkling. Things in the distance are often too far away to comprehend. Those up close to the train are gone before you register their existence.
Occasionally you pass by a life, so quickly, of someone that may have been born, schooled, worked, and retired in the same town, same house. And yet, you experience but a notion of their time. Leaving you ruminating. Pondering.
The taking of these photos illustrated what I felt. I took them randomly, not composing what I was seeing as it flashed by so quickly. The photographs reflect my experience. I never looked to see what was captured, so seeing them again was like reliving the journey. They are taken, at speed, through the dirty windows, with very little processing. They are what I saw.
BIO
Award winning photographer Des Harris has been in the commercial photographic industry for over 35 years. During that time he has worked in press, public relations, and corporate photography in Ireland, Australia, and France. In Australia he runs the highly successful photographic agency, The Picture Desk, focussing on architecture, real estate and corporate photography. He is a member of the Federation of European Photographers, the Australian Institute of Professional Photographers, incorporating the Australian Commercial and Media Photographers where he was formerly a board member. He is also an accredited member of the International Federation of Journalists and the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance. He is currently the in-house photographer for MB Creative Studios in Sydney’s Upper North Shore. Apart from a recent 3 year stint in Paris, he has been residing in Avalon on Sydney’s Northern beaches since 2000.
