exotic

When the movie "Fargo" was released I remember the critics waxing poetic about the snowy landscapes. They viewed the countryside as a silent character in the movie.

"Barren landscapes stretched for miles, as far as the eye could see, with nothing that showed the hand of man save for a few lonely fenceposts keeping time along the side of the highway. Pastels and caribbean colors are forbidden in this land of white and grey. It's lonely and one senses a lurking danger. We are immersed in an exotic locale and feel as though we're explorers who have been to the moon and back to tell the tale."

I laughed out loud because it all appeared pretty ordinary to me. Looked like nearby McGough road on a Tuesday afternoon. The only danger would be sliding off the road and if that happens you just call Duke & Lee's Garage to come tow you out.......or if you're not too far into the field you could possibly drag the old rug out of the trunk and jam it under the rear wheels.

Just last year I received an e-mail from someone in North Africa. He was complimenting me on my photographs and discussing at length the "exotic images"....huh? Well, I linked back to his website to see what was going on in North Africa.

I was totally astounded. There's no way to describe the feelings I had when I viewed his photo of a gigantic sandstorm, literally miles high and many miles across bearing down on an ancient town in the desert. I felt as if I'd just made the trip to Mars, that's how foreign and exotic his landscape appeared to me. And likewise the miles of cornfields are exotic to him.

It took me a little while but I think I've got it. Exotic is wherever you are not.