Slow Photography #69 A Passion for Provincetown

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Kenneth Lonergan, Provincetown Crier, 2010.
William (Bill) Maynard, Provincetown Painter, at 93.
David Mazochi's post-apocalyptic carnival parade float called "Viva Las Vegas".
Watching the parade: Lizard & Lick and Provincetown Police Officer, Commercial St.
Sunday afternoon in the Provincetown Library.
Stop And Shop Security staff with a customer in a July rainstorm.

 I have a passion for Provincetown and I love the people here. Part of this passion is an appreciation for the simple pleasures offered by this Cape Cod town. Then, there are the experiences I've had here.

 We were married in Provincetown on August 30, 2013.

The week after our small ceremony, I met two old friends from my Denver childhood. Arriving by ferry, they brought their 13-year-old son to Commercial Street, and stayed near Commercial for a day. After swapping memories of past times in Colorado, they said they disliked Provincetown and told me they'd never be back.

 I was curious how they formed their strong opinion, so I asked them:


Did you walk the East End? West End?
>Nope.

  Did you take in a show? Listen to music in a club or on the street?
>Naw.

 Did you go out on the water or swim the harbor, or even sit gazing at water and waves? Did you bike out among the Dunes?
>We tried, but...
Talking about his experience on Commercial Street, the father added: "It's too much like a Mall."


Showing her grandson the sea, near Captain Jacks Wharf.
When we rush our travel experience, we don't look a place in the eye, and so we miss its humanity. In contrast to my friends' impression, the Provincetown I've experienced is vastly different. It's a vibrant, vital, diverse, wildly energetic and eclectic town. Walking its streets to photograph is a meditation in SloFO. I slow my pace to explore images everywhere in Provincetown.





Flyer's sailboat rental, Provincetown harbor.
Catching a summer double rainbow over Provincetown harbor.
Performers at Boatslip, during Carnival.
Perhaps this beautiful, magical town by the sea is so solicitous, and so diverse, that all of us who adore her may say "our Provincetown" even if we are just passing through like migrating birds.

 I offer a few images of our Provincetown. My photographs are like a newspaper Op-Ed, just one person's viewpoint. As you see and read them, you will know that they are not the truth, or your truth. View them merely as "remindful" windows on your own associations and memories of Provincetown. 

 The timeless spirit of Provincetown will always be larger than any single person's vision. Thank you, passionate Provincetown.



Outside Napi's restaurant in Provincetown.
Instagram
Two sunfish, three sails, eight feet.

DEDICATION: This article is dedicated to David Cox and Allen Gallant, William Maynard, Clo Tepper, and Jim Cote.

Thanks for your visit. All photographs and text Copyright Jimages 2015.












































































































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