Calm. Empty. Peculiar. For a mid-week day, the quiet was unusual.
It’s not what I’ve come to expect in Wiscasset, especially with discussions about traffic along Route 1, bypasses, crosswalks, economic impact and other general concerns. The stillness was nice for the moment, but certain to change.
This week’s photo was made from the shore near where ships Luther Little and Hesper spent many years being watched and photographed. I watched. And photographed. In fact, one early morning in the mid 90s (when I still did early mornings), the ships were a subject of mine. For some reason I stopped in Wiscasset on my way back from a very early morning job elsewhere.
It was a semi cloudy day, quite still with partial sun landing on the decaying vessels. The masts had almost fallen away, but still clung to their fittings and each other, tilting. It was a good photographic scene, not likely to last. That night a stormy strong wind took down the masts. Eventually, the ships’ remains were removed.
Something about the absence of activity in the scene I’ve shared reminded me of the ships. They were part of the waterfront for a long time. Even as they fell apart, their stillness, for me, created a lasting quiet space.
The memory of them came back along the shore as I watched nothing happen.