Snapshot Day

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“The Aeroplane Over the Sea”

Unfortunately enough, on snapshot day I was extremely sick, as in can’t-get-out-of-bed sick. Interestingly, it actually turned out to be aligning perfectly with snapshot day, in a way that things fell into place very easily. In fact, I was tortured by the thought that I wasn’t going to take an interesting picture, that I was going to have to rush to school and get out for maybe a few hours and roam around, taking so many pictures to the point that even my own feet could suddenly become a possible subject. But I got sick; while I was driving through Queens to get to my house, where I would have spent the rest of my feverish sickness that day, we stopped at a gas station, right next to the water. For some reason, I decided to get out in the cold blade of the autumnal breeze, which revealed itself not to be a very good idea for my throat. All of a sudden, I  noticed something moving in the sky, right above the water: an airplane was about to approach La Guardia airport and land. Having my phone on me, I ran as close as I could, trying to get the perfect shot. I had time to get maybe two pictures, one of which wasn’t quite what I was looking for. The one I picked, which I decided to call “The Aeroplane Over the Sea”, was far more amazing in details than I first expected.

A first look might not quite catch the eye, but as you examine further the snapshot, you can suddenly notice how the duck on the water seems to be racing the airplane. If I had had time to align my camera better, the surface of the water traces pretty fairly the first one-third, horizontal line of the frame. The airplane and its route cut the picture in half. I found it interesting how the picture is slightly slanted, not making the surface of the water and the horizon perfectly horizontal, but instead is aligned with the originally slanted airplane, as if the airplane was really the reference point, not the surroundings. I thought another pretty amazing detail is the bridge (not sure which one) that you can see on the left part of the horizon, pushing the viewer’s eye further and further…

I love how instantaneous this picture was. I got so worried I would have had to roam around and wouldn’t have been satisfied, when–paradoxically–all I did was get sick and just snap a photo in one fleeing instant at a gas station.

 

Sara Camnasio

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About Sara Camnasio

I'm Sara, yes Sara without the H. I was born in an anonymous town in the middle of nowhere, in the industrial Northern Italy. I grew up with my fingers sticky from pasta dough and my face powdered with flour, helping my grandmother to make the most loved meals in the world. I was tossed in my grandma's arms at age 4—when my parents divorced—and I lived a spoon-fed life until I was 8, when I moved with my father and his new wife to what would have become my hometown. Bosisio Parini—a name that barely appears on any map—was the place I spent most of my life in: two-thousand people, three churches, and the lake, puddle of memories. But despite its stunning beauty, that limiting environment granted no future for us. So I had to jump, take the biggest leap of my life: on the 22nd of December 2009 I moved to the Big Apple with my mother and sister, leaving my dad to Italy to support us financially. I was thrown in the illogical world of slang and French fries, but somehow—fantastically—I managed to become part of it without gaining fifty pounds. I may speak with my hands, but I swear one can barely hear my accent. I feel more American than ever, although I'll never forget my origins; that little village—to me—is that one place where you feel like you left your anchor. I mean—would have been a pretty heavy load to carry overseas, all the way to New York city.