But wandering through the streets of Ulaanbaatar (Улаанбаатар), I could start to read the street signs again. Nomin (Номин), the state department store, took me back to Prague and the Socialist mall I ate in while I was there.
There was grit, to be sure. The tail of a long winter left the streets bare. Paving stones were still being shuffled from one spot to another. Long strips of sidewalk were still heaps of sand lying in wait.
Sharp angles in the architecture took me to the newer parts of Dresden, but even with the cold thickness of it all - so different from the traditional Mongolian gers with their round felt exteriors - there was a brightness to the city, a cheerfulness. For whatever brave expanses of solid concrete rose from the streets, there was texture and color.
The muted tones of the chipped and snow bleached apartment buildings seemed to suggest that the sunny summer days ahead were all they'd need to regain their color.
And the people, in their unbuttoned coats and winter boots, were laughing in the street.
3 comments:
this is so poetic! i love the (how do you say...?) resolution, or color quality, or whatever that special quality to the photos is! it makes everything seem more serious and more neon at the same time. interesting juxtaposition.
ah yes, that's the joy of cross-processed slide film. it makes everything super contrasty and mega saturated. i'm a fan, obviously.
it does make stuff extra grainy, but i can live with that.
i like the grains! better grainy mustard than smooth mustard.
WHICH, btw, reminds me: i went to zabar's today for a panini! it was awesome. the best part was that they had gulden's spicy mustard (my #1 favorite non-dijon brand) in tiny packets! i've never seen that before in my life!!!!! it's enchanting!!! i <3 mustard, and therefore grains. that is my point.
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