I ran into these words in such an unlikely place and it made me curious as to who would have put it there and why. I like finding words unexpectedly and this spoke volumes for me at the time because I was right in the middle of it. In my doubts, maybe the world was reassuring me that it was true. I was,
I am slowing down and falling in love again.
I asked my beautiful friend to pose in front of it and she graciously obliged. She tried to convey this feeling of falling in love but instead we just had fun with it! She did a great job! :)
Ironically (I'm not kidding) the words were taken down a few months later!
And I was still falling, but not in love, I was falling s l o w ly
from the effects of unrequited love.
The words gone. The feelings not easily erased.
i am slowing down.
i am slowly falling down
67 comments:
great post, and great photos once again!
Hi Love your work was searching for photo online of venice and found your site.
Sophia M.
Chicago, IL
hi neel & thanks :)
sophia :: this is so strange, you have the same initials as my friend pictured here, i almost thought it was her! (accept she spells her name Sofia)
btw, Thank you!!
Lorena, I'm truly amazed at how you put words to the photos...which btw are spectacular...I LOVE THIS POST! It warms my soul. Your friend is so sweet to pose....cheers.
I am slowing down and falling in love again.
Like a mantra. Beautiful, beautiful line. ^_^ And it can very well apply to love of writing, painting, photography, etc.
I was still falling, but not in love, I was falling s l o w ly
from the effects of unrequited love.
The words gone. The feelings not easily erased.
Aww precious one... *hugs*
lovely pictures and i ABSOLUTELY LOVE THOSE WORDS!
it feels like a sign from the universe, like something out of a paulo coelho's book.
reminds me of what someone told me once, that you need to put aside your head for a while to fall in love.
...yes this has to be a sign lorena....loved the post! :)
The feelings you convey always tear at me. This is so remarkable. Your friend is as adorable as you. I like the 5th picture down the most. I think you got what you were looking for there.
B&W photos are my favorite! And you did such a beautiful job here. ;)
Funny, yesterday I was walking past a sign that felt like a message for me, too... it made me feel calm and peaceful, like some kind of extra reassurance.
=)
very nice words those...it is a pity they were taken off...btw I'm curious to know which place is that? looks like somewhere in Europe to me...am I right?
Hey! Very clever! :)
Unrequited love? Ahhh, must have been a moron not to fall for you. Nice shots!
I am falling in love with your beautiful friend...
Nikos
hey wonderfully shot b&w photos
btw sofia ur model is very beautiful
Awesome photos! And the model looks great too. ;)
mitzee :: thank you sweetie :)
irina :: that's interesting, i never thought of it that way. thanks for the nice comment :)
soulless :: glad you dropped by. that's true, it is like a mantra. oh, i get a hug from a wonderful poet, thanks :)
gulnaz :: i love paulo coehlo and feel it was like what he writes off, the universe trying to telling you something. i'm glad you mentioned that!!! :) we think alike!
"put aside your head" that's true, when you take all expectations away, quit analzying, thinking too much, that's when it happens. that's when love has room to enter. thanks gulnaz :)
cannot be trusted :: me too! i never found out, not that i played detective either. i know there are many art schools all around there (state street), maybe one of them professed their love this way? hmmm.
deem :: thanks, sweetie :) yeah, that picture, her eyes are definitely revealing something, that's true. (flirtatious) you always notice such interesting things. i also think her body language, her arms (behind her, crossed, on the side) all that is significant as well.
stella :: thank you!! what did the sign say?? btw, everytime i see your name i think of that film (can't recall the name) where STELLA!! is yelled out, you know what i'm talking about??
anil :: thank you. i know i was disappointed when i didn't see it anymore. believe this or not, this is my hometown, sweet home Chicago :)
carolvs :: thank you.
mermaid :: you are so sweet! thanks :) i have to take some blame, i confessed my feelings too late.
nikos :: there's just something about greek women, huh? ;) i'll pass this on to her!
karthik :: thank you.
and yes, she is beautiful! :)
red :: thanks!! glad you stopped by again.
(i think the model should leave a comment!! Sofia are you out there???!!) :)
I love photography.
(you're thinking of a streetcar named desire)
oh that's right. great film. thanks :)
Hi Lorena,
Thanks again for stopping in and for your comments. I like this series. The black and white is great. Thanks also for adding my site to your list. I appreciate it!
lorena,
the quote went something like >> your wish will be granted if you wait. you have to work though while you're waiting.
(it made sense to me ;)
The minute I read those words written on the window, I could suddenly hear John Legend soulfully sing 'Ordinary People' in my head.
"...We're just ordinary people
We don't know which way to go
Cause we're ordinary people
Maybe we should take it slow
(Take it slow oh oh ohh)
This time we'll take it slow
(Take it slow oh oh ohh)
This time we'll take it slow..."
Do take it slow, Lo, this ain't a movie, no.
I can't believe that!
Wow!
Too bad I didnt meet her when I was studying in Chicago.
Why I moved to california? Tell me Whyyy???
:))
Nikos.
thanks anonymous poet :)
stella :: that's cool. anything that is telling you that your wish will come true, you have to like :)
chikididu :: i love that song. i've been listening to that cd recently. especially when you need energy. "take it slow" good advice, thanks :)
nikos :: you should know that she now lives in greece so you won't feel so bad (that you are not in Chicago) plus she's engaged :( :)
I don t lose my hopes!
The good news is that she s not married!
plus I go to Greece in August!
:)))))
Anyhow,
Cool Blog! I like it! Congrats!!!
And by the way, I miss Chicago sooooo much!
Nikos.
you take beautiful photographs
Mi amiga Lorena, your talent is remarkable. I love your pictures, you have a great eye for detail.
I love these pictures especially because they are of me!!! ha ha, not being cocky at all.
Sofia
Sometimes people don't slow down and realize when love is right in front of them, they just pass it by and it can never be retrieved as that love has moved on. We sometimes need to slow down and take our time with the love we do have, many people rush into things. They don't let the love flurish but rather they rush into the relationship, rudh into marriage and kids and the love never had a chance to fully developed.
What a convincing narrative Lorena. Loved rading it. On the substance, we should learn to recognise the opportunity.
thanks gangadhar!
nikos :: good, nobody likes a quitter :) imagine if you were to run into her!! thanks for dropping by.
mussolini :: thank you and glad you visited :)
Sofia :: hola amiga :) you, cocky?? porfavor miss modest. do miss your sense of humor!!
thank you!! but yes, you are the one that makes these photographs pretty :)
gq1nyc :: thanks for adding your thoughts on this. it's true. sometimes we don't see what's right in front of us. it's sad. and we speed things up in hopes of making sure we don't lose the other. love takes time. falling in love slowly is the best way, it's longlasting.
shirazi :: yeah before it's too late. thanks for adding that.
if spock is enough :: thanks for visiting as well and for leaving nice comments :)
this is my favorite picture-post combo of all time. hands down. this is so wonderful i just wish i was there with you when you saw the words and snapped the photos. and your friend is indeed a beauty.
great job, lorena!
Thats a beautiful piece of work Lorena..and the words are like magic...and yeah...I am linking you..:)
Beautiful black and whites.
Love the way you have captured the words and your friend in these pictures. Thanks for this.
PS - Have added you to my blogroll so that I can keep coming back! :-)
first time to ur blog..
the b/w fotos definitely gives it an effect, if only there was another guy nearby to pose for the fotos along with ur model!!
gr8 ones..
What fun words to randomly come across. I think there should be more random bits of poetic words throughout cities. Imagine how it might alter our culture - rather than coming across ads for cars and cigarettes in our subconscious on a continuous basis!
transience :: thank you girl :) i wish you were here too. you would've made a great model!
thank you sushmita & A, i've linked you as well :)
sathish :: welcome and thanks for leaving a comment. i did take some with a guy as well. they are more silly though. still maybe i will include them later. thanks for the thought.
sk8rn :: i know. i would love this. it would be uplifting and inspiring. you have a great idea here. lately some ads have included words that can be looked at as inspiring. i had one just in the tip of my tongue, darn i can't remember it. oh well!
wow, very nice layout, photos and smile :)
Hey Lorena,
I hope someone from the entertainment industry comes in here and realizes your talent. You ought to be in Hollywood or something!
This blog of yours always lifts my spirits. Thank you
Joe
"The Olde Man Speaks"
A lot of twenty somethings seem to frequent your blog, Lorena. And the topic of romantic love comes up a lot, which would make sense. That's the decade when looking for a partner is high on just about everybody's agenda.
One thing I personally noticed that I benefited from hugely was living alone for a couple years in a small apartment and relationship-free. I was maybe 27-28. I didn't plan on it, but looking back, I think it would even have been worth planning for!
What it amounted to was I ended up putting that time to great use by facing some personal issues. It made me, from then on, a better person to be in a relationship with.
So while relationships in our twenties can of course be great, to me it seems important to avoid a kind of frantic hopping from one relationship to another that may actually in part be a way to avoid facing and relating to yourself. It's all too easy to act-out our unresolved issues in relation to others. If we find a way to give ourselves the space to work some of them out, we end up with more postives and less conflicts to bring into our relations with others.
Learning about what love really is involves looking at where we are coming from ourselves, and not just looking for relationships. (What love is also happens to be the current topic on my blog.)
gr8 post! and an amazing model to shoot ;)
thanks catciao, glad you dropped by :)
potted-flower :: sorry about the music but you can stop it so it won't play. (its actually annoyed me as well) but i love the song.
thanks for your wonderful comments.
no, those words were found in that spot, not altered.
isn't it cool! thanks for dropping by!! :)
the voice :: you are too nice. when i was little i did want to be an actress, i'm dramatic enough for it :)
thanks!!
paul :: i've been relationship-free for awhile so i can understand what you are talking about. i have used the time wisely and i agree that it makes me one with less baggage for the next relationship.
as always paul you are very insightful, thanks :)
mystique :: yay, your back!! :) thanks, hope you like venice in color!
thanks aashish!
i know what you mean. it does come out of nowhere :) thanks!
"I am slowing down and falling in love again"... You know? That sounds as if every movement we do in time and space is kind of in order to run away from it, or at lest mantain a parallel course, and the afforementioned phenomena is a gravitational force, an oportunist entity which feeds of the moment of weakness and colapsing. But it has a beautiful message at the end, because that equation implies that love is our enthropy, the resting state we are destined to be in...
Beautiful pictures, Lorena, muy hermosas...
By the way, having lived in Chicago around ten years ago(now I live in Puerto Rico), in what part were them taken? It reminds me that part in Wicker Park where Milwaukee, North and Damen find each other, that corner where "InsideThe Coyote" is celebrated, near The Red Hen backery, The Segundo Ruiz Belvis Puerto Rican Cultural Center, the old Fire House Theater, which burned in the last days of 1997...
Wow, that picture brought me memories. Something that has to do with the combination of what I am seeing (the air you can breath when a certain light presides over a scene) and the message, as sad as good as beautiful...
Gracias Lorena...
Take care and God bless you...
Héctor M.
San Juan, Puerto Rico
P.S. Now I have the last picture as a wallpaper in my computer, if you don't mind...
Oops, sorry, I don't know how it happened, that I send the message three times...
Sorry again...
H.M.
Hi Hector,
Thanks for leaving such profound thoughts! Your comment made me think. I would like to believe in a parallel universe, in where we exist as well but lead a different life as a result of other choices we made and I wonder where my life would be had I done this or that. There is always a point in our life in where many paths lie ahead of ourselves and we have a choice to make. One path is taken and the others are abandoned and so it is. I read this book by Ayn Rand which touched on that subject and it was such an interesting concept. What you said reminded me of this. I love how you read this post :) Thank you.
This was taken on State Street (state and van buren).
Wow, Puerto Rico. I have yet to go there but I heard it's beautiful.
Oh, and I'm flattered that you made it your wallpaper :)
Thanks for visiting. Drop by anytime :)
(i deleted the repeats)
Dear Lorena: First of all, thank you very much for correcting my clumsy mistake... Second, for an especificity pourpose, I must make clear that was not the last picture the one I took as wallpaper, as I erroneously said, but the last one with Sofía, which, for me, in the use of the visual elements is saying in the image the same the sentence is saying in words.
Now, what I really wanted to say: that your reply moved me in a great way. I didn't imagine you were going to have such a beautiful opinion about what I saw in the relation between verb and image. I do not deserve such beautiful words (but I can try to earn them... ;0)). Also let me tell you, afterward I read your poem "3 Seconds", and your sensibility and facility to construct metaphores struck me. Yep, I can see you love Pablo Neruda.
About the parallel worlds, or alternate realities, I've read some about it. That concept was started by Dr. Hugh Everett III, a physicist about whom Scientific American Magazine said was one of the "greatest minds of the 20th century", and also the father of Eels' frontman Mark Oliver Everett, whoI also admire a great deal. It is part of what is known as quantum mechanics. You could read a little bit more about it in http://everythingforever.com/everett.htm
Now I have to go, but plan soon to be back to enjoy more of your beautiful pictures (I also loved your work about Venezia and Firenze) and your poetry. Now I found something that nourishes my soul, and I am in debt with you for that...
Gracias otra vez, Lorena...
Take care and God bless you...
Your friend,
H.
Yes, Puerto Rico is a paradise...
Wonderful set of photos. Keep it up.
Hi Hector, I think you should start a blog yourself, you have such interesting thoughts.
Wow, my friend Sofia is famous :) She is featured on a desktop! I agree, that one does
represent the words best.
Yes, I do love Pablo Neruda. He is amazing! Thanks for providing me the information on
parallel worlds, I will definitely do some reading on that.
I'm really happy that you've enjoyed the photographs :)
Thanks and Take care.
bablu :: i'm glad you made it over here :) thanks.
some very cool written words and photography. i love black n white :) nice blog too! :)
Hector :: I also like Octavio Paz. Enjoy poetry from many....E.E.Cummings, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman to name a few. But Pablo Neruda, he's #1 with me. I'll have to read #14.
Your favorites?
Thanks for asking :)
Josh :: thanks for stopping by and leaving a nice comment! :)
Well, my dear Lorenita, poetry for me is like a huge glass meteor that broke in billions of little pieces, which scattered all over space and time... Which mean I love a lot of poets, some whose name I don't remember (would you believe I called a friend to ask for the name of a French poet which I have read very recently and even became one of my favorites, I forgot how the guy was named? But, O.K. here are the ones whose names I rememeber... :0)
There is the master of the Haiku, 18th Century Japanese poet Basho, there is the French poet of the 16th Century Francoise Villon, Shakespeare, E.E. Cummings ("no one, not even the rain has such small hand" -was the verse like that?), Dylan Thomas. And there is the great Pablo Neruda, and the other great Chilean, Gabriela Mistral. From Argentina Alfonsina Storni. From México, yes, Octavio Paz (he is so great also as an aesthetic, the guy knew about arts like few). Among the Spaniards is Federico García Lorca, Miguel Hernández, Vicente Alexandre, Jorge Guillén, Rafael Alberty. There is also the Cubans Nicolás Guillén, José Martí, and Roberto Fernández Retamar. And the Puerto Ricans Julia de Burgos, Juan Antonio Corretjer, José María Lima, Angela María Dávila, Hugo Margenat, Joserramón Melendes and Iván Figueroa (who is my beloved friend from teenagehood). There is the Russian Vladimir Maiakovsky, from the early days of the Soviet Revolution. God! There are so many! And, even he never considered himself a poet (most of his production was in short stories), Argentinian writer Julio Cortázar is one of my favorite poets. There was an antology made of his poetic works ("Salvo el crepúsculo) that is one of the most intense things I have read...
Wow, dear, I think I am consumig a lot of space (and there are a huge lot of more poems to come). As you can see, I love poetry... ;0)
Well, gotta go know, but let`s keep talking about art, which I think in some way saves us, don't you think so?
Take care and God bless you...
P.S. I saw you like Lucinda Williams... I love her!!!
hi hector, thanks for giving me many poet names. i will definitely look into those that i'm not familiar with.
yes, very well said, "art saves us"!
lucinda williams is wonderful. love her voice, her style :)
My very dear Lorena: And there are many more, but among them I forgot to mention another big favorite. It’s a girl that lives in Chicago, also a photographer. She was born on 1976 and publishes on a blog... ;0)
Now, this morning my perception woke up a little “traviesa”, and had between a second before opening my eyes and three seconds before opening the door of my place, a different reading of the verse in the glass struck me, a whole story behind those words...
It is the story of a man that everytime he made love his time was just enough for his own satisfaction. It was not about premature ejaculation, it was not about quickies. It was just about a kind of non existing of the other being, of the other half of the moment. It was the same with many women. Until one day, he didn’t know what happened, somtheing (maybe an aroma, maybe a moan, maybe a sigh, maybe something in the way of staring) made him slow the pace, a kind of recognition from his body to this woman, then a cadenza started between them, an intense movement of Adagio. And as the bodies were fusing, so were doing the souls that ocupied the flesh machines, which were in the imprimation of a memory and a love, slowly, second by second, eternity inside each frame, as if time it’s made of dripping honey...
The characters can switch in gender aspect and it would be the same story. And anyway, it is not at all contradictory to the prior reading, if we consider the afforementioned behavior as a way to run away from the gravitational pull of love...
Hey, Lorena, by the way I would like to show you some little an stupid poetry work of mine, but I feel a little embarassed of doing it so, in the lack of a better term, “in public”. So, can I give you my e-mail adress? (maybe the one from my job, I don’t know, you tell me), and you write me and I write you and send the poems? Is there another option? You tell...
Hi hector, you are so sweet. thanks for the kind words :)
wow, what a story. you must be a writer, no? i think you should start a blog of your own. it would be great.
i'm flattered that you would like to share your poetry with me. Definitely, just give me your email and i will email you back.
again consider joining this blog community :)
Lorena, all the words were well deserved, you admired rider of the image and the metaphore...
Well, I am a journalist, currently specialized in Science issues, specially in Biology and Medical Sciences, but yep, I love to write about anything (I hope one day I can do it decently... ;0)).
If you want, dear, you can reach me at:
sercelestial@yahoo.com
At your service, milady...
Take care and God bless you...
Your friend,
H.
Your friend is beautiful; and so are your photographs :)
-- Akshaya
we both thank you :)
Dear Lorena: Know what? Couple of weeks ago I did not know an olive bone neither about Damien Rice, nor about Lucinda Williams. Until a friend invited me to hear in his I-Pod "The Blower's Daughter" (I didn't see "Closer" either- sometimes you don't have the tolerance to the pain of seeing people hurting each other, even you know it is only a movie). Which in it's simplicity has hidden the intensity of a desperate love, with a moment in which repetition is the most eloquent representation of an inamored human being. So I looked for him in the Borders Bookstore in Plaza las Américas, in Hato Rey, P.R. So I heard him onthe headphones and fell in love with the Irishman. Then later I saw in display the album of Lucinda Williams at The Fillmore, and fell in love with her. So I bought both albums. Now I am an almost hardcore fan of both of them, and, given I found them almost together they are kind of a same entity, even their styles are so dissimilar, so when I hear "Fruits of my Labor" I feel like hearing then "Cold Water". So it is good to know someone who has a heart for them also...
Take care and God bless you...
Your friend,
H.
You know what? I haven't said nothing about Sofía, and she is one of the two valiant heroines behind the photo session...
Tell her please her beauty reminded something about the wisdom of the old Europe, with the flavor of the wine, and that her way of staring, sad yet mischievious was perfect for the part...
Take care and God bless you...
H.
That is an amazing series of photos with your friend. You are very talented with the camera and the way you wrap photographs with your thoughts. The shots are candid and elegant. I find them inspirational, and it makes me want to grab my camera and go out in search of those types of moments. You are a very talented photographer & poet. Love it.
Hector :: what a wonderful compliment you've paid my friend. i will definitely let her know :)
i'm glad you are enjoying those new cds.
canadian corona :: thank you for such huge HUGE compliments. I could only wish to be able to own both those titles. I'm honored that you've associated me with them. You are sweet :)
thank you :)
Hey, i was going to leave a comment a month ago, but didnt. Then you popped up on my blog.
Now i forgot what i was going to say, back then.
The blog would is shrinking, or growing..
how wierd. yeah, we all seem to be connecting through fellow bloggers. it's cool really.
And again, its great to meet other like-minded quirky individuals...I can so relate to this - not just the words..but also that you'd stop & make a friend pose, to get the snap!
cool! :) thanks.
Great pictures! I have been searching for these words for a while now, do you remember where one could find that elevator? I feel that if I at least find where they were once, I will have completed my search in a sense. Thanks!
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