Certain moments/circumstances – and/or an image which “captures” one of them, without seeking to “manipulate” it – have a “waking dream” quality.
That quality is hugely dependent on how the particular observer responds to the particular moment or image.
Certainly, however, a “waking dream” moment or image does not require the obvious presence of “conflict”, “high drama”, “hilarity”, “tragedy” or “somebody famous/infamous”.
To me, this post’s image captures a “waking dream” circumstance, but another pair of equally “perceptive” eyes could find “nothing special to see, here”.
The photo is an entirely candid shot; the various behaviours evident had precisely nothing to do with my – or my camera’s – presence.
The circumstance: all visible humans were on the Cottesloe groyne at 2.20 pm on 21 August 2022, as a large ship was nearing Fremantle Container Terminal.
Not visible in the photo, but immediately adjacent, respectively, on northern side and southern side of the Cottesloe groyne – Perth’s most celebrated beach, and a surprisingly rich reef, worthy of more celebration.
The aforementioned container terminal is a few kilometres/nautical miles/ minutes’ sailing time away, south of Cottesloe.
Click here for Waves of Change – a well-illustrated account of Cottesloe Beach’s sometimes-surprising history.
Footnote:
This post’s “moment” and the resulting image made me think of Federico Fellini and Jeffrey Smart.
I am pretty sure the Italian filmmaker never visited Australia, and I have no reason to believe that the Australian painter ever contemplated Cottesloe.